Song of the Sea
by Sombra112
Summary: In the days where Singers are hunted like dogs, one hid in the crowd hoping never to be caught. But all that changed when she is captured by the fierce pirate Silver. Now she must protect her life and even her heart from the theiving pirate. IK
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: NO I do not own Inuyasha. That awsome privalige belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

So here is my first time trying to juggle two stories at once. And If I find out I can't I will finish my other one, then come back to this one. So if I suddenly stop writing this one, don't get mad, I'll get to it when I finish my other one.

Now I know there is a million and one pirate themed Inuyasha fanfics, that's why I'm making one. To stir up the waters with some new ideas and because, hell it looks like fun! My inspiration for this fanfic comes from another fanfic writer who wrote a pirate fanfic, Heart of the Sea, and while it was good and I really liked it, I thought it could use some improving. It also comes from a book I read, I don't remember what it's called, but it has magical people in it who sing and can control the elements. I'll look up the name of the book later to put it in my disclaimer but your probably tired of me. On with the story!!!

**Song of the Sea**

By Sombra112

**Prologue**

"Grampa tell us a story!" A little black haired child exclaimed.

The old silver haired man looked at her. It was raining outside and all the poor little ones were stuck inside away from all their favorite games.

"A story?" he repeated his voice cracked and aged.

"Yeah a story!" a little brown haired boy joined her in front of him. It wasn't only his grandchildren he was watching this evening. His friends from next door were out and he was charged with watching them as well.

"Make it a romantic story!" the little girl said with stars in her eyes.

"No, make it a story with fighters and action!" A black haired boy cried slashing an invisible sword.

"No, make it one with magic!" some one else yelled.

"No, one with ships and pirates!" came another little voice.

His youngest granddaughter came and sat on his lap her thumb in her mouth and her teddy bear at her side.

"Make it a long story." she whispered in his ear.

"Well, that's quite a list." he chuckled. "But I think I have the perfect one."

His wife, who was cooking something in the kitchen smiled as if she knew the tale he was about to impart to the children.

He stared into the fire in the grate for a moment as if he was deciding where start.

He took a deep breath and asked, "You all know of the greatest pirates on the sea of course?"

"Like Ruthbart?" One child asked.

"Yes, like Ruthbart. But who remembers the fiercest pirate. The most powerful and bloodthirsty to ever sail the seas?" he asked.

The children thought for a minute before the little girl on his lap whispered, "Silver."

"Exactly." he chuckled bouncing her on his knee.

"Oh he was a mean one. It was said he was never caught, not once. Now, who can tell me what a Singer is?"

"Like grandma?" The first girl asked.

"Yes, like grandma."

"You mean some one who can control the entire sea?" the one who asked for action asked.

The old man laughed. "No. No Singer can control the entire sea. Only a little bit at a time. Well, this story has those in it too."

"Oh tell the story already." his wife chided as the children squirmed in anticipation.

He laughed. "Very well my dear." he cleared his throat and settled into his chair.

"Our story starts with a beautiful young Singer, named Kagome...."

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Well that's all you get until the next chapter. Leave me reviews I love to hear your thoughts whether you like the story or not!


	2. Shooting Stars

**Disclaimer: NO I do not own Inuyasha. That awsome privalige belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

Wow, one review, I feel sooo loved. JK!!! I've only just written it and there's only the prologue so one is more than I expected!! Here's chapter 1!!!!

**Chapter 1: Shooting Stars**

Kagome stared out into the open blue ocean wonder and longing buried deep in her deep chocolate eyes. The wind was whipping the thin skirt of her dress up. The hem reached out as if it wanted to join the deep blue just a cliff dive away.

Kagome sighed as she stared. She was born to be near the sea. She was born to sail upon it, to live on it, to be one with it.

But she was a Singer. Being a Singer was a bad thing to be.

It wasn't against the law to be a Singer, in fact Singers were prized for ships loved having them aboard. They brought good luck on the sea, they could sing away storms, bring favorable winds with a little tune, and even more greater magics when they sang at appropriate times.

However, pirates also found this a valuble trait to have. A Singer found abord a ship was taken alive and they were tortured, or worse, while being forced to sing for their captors.

The pirates treated them so badly that their Singers died faster than they could be replaced. People aboard the ships had tried to get the female Singers pregnant so they could have a new Singer when the other one died. But the songs were taught, not transferred by birth, and the children were usually killed when they couldn't produce the ship moving tunes their mother's had.

It got so bad that the Singers had been pushed to near extinction.

Kagome's grandfather had left the ship he had sung for, with great regret, when he had a child. Her mother was taught the songs, and taught the dangers of using them. And so had Kagome, when she had been born.

However, it was a terrible life.

Singers were created to live on the sea as their beautiful voices moved it. But with the danger Kagome and her family couldn't risk going and getting captured.

She was miserable, no matter how happy and safe her life was.

But so was her mother. And her grandfather had it worse, he had traveled the sea and knew it's joys and therefore had something to miss.

That didn't stop Kagome from yearning for the sea.

She sighed again and turned back to walk down the grassy cliff to the house she shared with her family.

She walked into town disliking the crowded streets with vendors showing their wares. The rich ladies walking around strictly to prance about like strutting peacocks.

Kagome's house was modest and very comfortably. It had two rooms, one for her and her mom the other for Souta and grandpa, a living room/kitchen and a small separate room for the chamber pot. Her family was rich enough to have a door, but not enough to have glass in their windows.

She walked inside and put up her shaw before walking to the stew she had let simmer when she left. She lifted the lid and stirred and smelled the mixture.

"Almost." she said.

"And where have you been, young lady?" her mother asked walking out of their room.

"Up on the cliff."

"Again? Kagome you must stop that." her mother's face was serious. "What if someone suspects.

"No one knows." Kagome said putting the lid back on the pot.

"You must be more careful." Her mother stroked her cheek. "You are my only daughter, and my beloved child. I would just die if I lost either you or Souta. You kids are my life."

"I know mom." Kagome said hugging her. "It's just so hard to resist."

"Your teenage years are the hardest to get through." She told her not for the first time. "But after they pass, it gets easier to resist the ocean's call."

"But by no means easy." Kagome reminded her.

Her mother smiled and kissed her forehead. "I'll watch the soup, go get some fire wood for me."

Kagome nodded and left the house again, this time taking the wheel barrow next to the door. "Offer him what, mother?" she asked.

Midori stood inside the doorway and answered. "Tell him the blanket will be ready in time for fall's chill."

Kagome smiled and wheeled the barrow off to the wood cutters. Her family made blankets, or sheets, or even pillow cases. If it needed sowing or mending or was made of cloth, Kagome'sfamily was involved. They made blankets twice as fast and much more beautiful than anyone else. That was because they used wooden needles and were able to sing the patterns into existence.

The sea port town they lived in, Averiba, valued their sewing skills. It was a small town whose main form of buying things was through bartering. Traders came sometimes and sometimes bartered, but when they payed in coin the metal smiths usually melted them down for other things.

The wood cutter was one of the people who cut the towns limber out in the forest. He had a weakness for Midori's quilts. Or rather, his wife did.

Kagome stopped by his shop and went around back where he was cutting the pieced into quarters or halves depending on the size of the trunk they came from.

"Barlum!" Kagome called when he stopped to take a brake.

"Kagome!" He said smiling when he saw her. Barlum was a sweet man who's dark hair was just recently starting to gray. His muscles still rippled under his skin thanks to his demanding profession. His son, a rather silent boy with dirty blond hair like his mother, was learning his father's business but was obviously not there.

"My mother says she'll trade you a nice warm quilt for lots of fire wood." Kagome offered with a tempting smile.

"Wow, women you'rea temptress." He laughed. "Alright. Two barrows for a nice thick quilt, yeah?"

"Sounds like a deal." Kagome agreed walking her wheel barrow forward toward his large shed full with his precious wood.

He unlocked in and started piling the wood in.

"How's that grandfather of yours?" He asked.

"He's fine. His joints bother him during storms but otherwise, he's fine."

"Good, good." he slapped some more in. "And your little brother?"

"Still thinks the sewing business is girlie." Kagome chuckled. "His newest obsession is being a cobbler."

"A cobbler?" Barlum smiled. "Last week it was a blacksmith."

"I know. He'll decide soon enough, but mom let's him explore until then."

He shook his head and put the last of the wood in. "Boy needs to get his head on his shoulders. Well there you go. Come back when you need that second barrow."

"I will." Kagome promised turning it around and pushing the much heavier load away.

"See you Kagome." he waved.

"Bye Barlum!" She waved back before turning around and pushing the barrow home.

* * *

"Where next, Captain?" Silver's first mate asked him as they gazed at the map. The map was covered in black slashes over major port towns and the pirate had run out of them.

He drew the small dagger he had in his boot and threw it at the map. It stuck deep in the table.

"There." he said.

The first mate removed the knife to look at the town it had picked. The map was covered in similar holes from where the Captain had picked his destinations.

"Small little port town called, Averiba." he reported.

"Why not. Set a course for that town."

"It's so small. Will the jewel really be there?"

"It wasn't at any of the bigger towns, why not start searching the small ones. Why do you ask? Is the crew complaining?"

"No sir." he assured him. "They know better. Besides, they enjoy the pillaging. Brings in good money."

Silver nodded and ordered, "Then set the course. I have a good feeling about this one."

"Captain?"

His smile was fierce as he said, "I didn't aim for the town on this throw."

* * *

Kagome sat on their doorway staring at the stars as the last of the town's lights were extinguished.

"Sis." Souta came up behind her. "Mom says it's time for bed."

Kagome raised her head off her hands to turn and look at him. "Okay. Tell her I'll be in in a minute."

"'K." he ran back inside.

Kagome watched him go before returning her gaze to the stars.

One shot across the sky.

Kagome gasped as two more followed. "A wish!" she closed her eyes and clasped her hands.

She wished for the seas, for the sparkling waves, the endless expanse of blue, the smell of sea air, the feeling of being home. She wished for all her heart and opened her eyes and looked up.

The falling stars had stopped but Kagome smiled anyway.

"Maybe, with luck, my wish will come true."

She turned to go back inside but was stopped dead by a large cannon blast.

She looked out to the port and saw a large ship pulling in, her guns blasting, her crew yelling, and her large black flag with the skull and cross bones flapping in the wind.

"Pirates!" she whispered.

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Well what do you think of my first chapter. Pretty good if I say so myself. CYA!!!


	3. Captured

**Disclaimer: NO I do not own Inuyasha. That awsome privalige belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

Okay on to chapter 2. If anyone wants to review please do so! I loooooooove!!!!!! reviews!

**Chapter 2: Captured**

People ran screaming out of their houses trying to escape the pirates rath.

The pirates stormed the city, setting fire to houses and shops as they ran up and down the streets.

Kagome ran inside her house to get her family. "MOM! GRAMPA! SOUTA!"

"Kagome!" her mother ran out of her room, still in her dresssing gown, Souta and Grampa behind her. "We need to get out of here." she grabbed her hand and ran outside.

Screams and smoke filled the air. Kagome could no longer see the stars. Her family ran up the street blending in with the crowd that was running toward the forest.

"Barlum!" Kagome screamed as he ran past an axe in his hand.

"You and your family get out of here Kagome!" he yelled back. "Me and the boys are defending our town!"

"Yeah!" Souta cried running after him.

"Souta! NO!" Midori screamed reaching helplessly after her baby boy.

"I'll go after him, mom. You and Gramps run, we'll catch up!"

Midori nodded and allowed herself to be dragged off by her father.

Kagome turned and ran after her brother. Her feet throbed each time they hit the cobblestone street as she had on no shoes.

"Souta! Souta!!" she yelled. Men ran by her intent on fighting off the pirate invaders.

Kagome ran down man street and saw her first pirate throwing a bomb inside the butcher's shop. He had short cropped black hair that blended in with his nice chocolate skin.

"Hey pretty lady. Why are you running?" He asked with a terrible grin not even flinching when the shop exploded.

"Get out of my way! I have no time for you!" Kagome yelled back braver than she felt.

"You got guts pretty lady. But what happens when their spilt all over the floor?" he grabed hid shortsword and charged her down.

Kagome jumped out of his way and continued runing yelling out her brother's name.

"Souta!" she yelled and then she saw him. He had a large stick in his hands and was fighting off one of the pirates.

"No!" She screamed as he tore the stick out of her brother's hands and raised his hand to hit him.

"STOP!" She grabbed his wrist before he could bring it down. The pirate turned to her. He had long red feathers in place of his hair and big black eyes with no whites.

A bird demon.

"Leave him alone!" Kagome yelled releasing his wrist and standing between her and her brother.

"Souta, run!" She said not looking at him.

"But I want to fight!" he cried back still too young to understand the danger.

"Souta RUN!" Kagome said ducking a punvh from the bird demon.

Souta started breathing hard and looking around.

"GO!" she said grabbing his wrist as he made another try to hit her.

Souta turned and ran off toward the forest not looking back.

The demon smiled evily as she forced her to her knees. "Your a brave little wench aren't you?" He asked. With a flick of his wrist he threw her aside.

Kagome landed in a heap and before she could get up he was back grabbing her throat and pulling her off the ground.

"I like it when they struggle." he said fiercly.

Suddenly his face contorted with pain as he gasped. Kagome looked down and saw a sword sticking out of his chest.

"What have I told you about wemon and children, Dibious?" A cold icy voice asked.

Dibious coughed up a little blood as he let go of Kagome. She fell at his feet and grabbed her sore throat.

The long piece of steal withdrew from his chest and he fell beside Kagome his black eyes blank.

Kagome gasped and turned her eyes away to the boots of the man who had...saved her?

She drew her gaze upwards seeing black pants and boots, a red shirt, long silver hair, cold emotionless golden eyes.

She gasped again as she recognized who had 'saved' her.

"Silver." she whispered in shock.

"Aw you've heard of me. I'm honored." he smiled coldly and grabbed her by her upper arm and forced her up.

"Now be honost," He said pointing his sword at her heart. "I'm looking for something. Maybe you've heard of it? It's called the Shikon no Tama. Or Heart of the sea."

Kagome gasped and her eyes widened.

"Ah so you do know of it." He said his eyes sparkling. "Tell me."

"I...I know nothing." Kagome lied quickly.

But Silver caught her lie. "I said, be honest." His grip tightened. "Tell me"

Kagome cried out in pain. Of course she knew what it was. Every Singer knew what the Shikon no Tama was. The sacred Heart of the Sea. It had the powers to control the water, like any Singer. Or, in the hands of a real Singer, control the entire ocean and everything in it. It was a dangerous and powerful artifact. But only Singers knew what it was. If he knew she was a Singer...

"I don't know anything!" Kagome lied again.

Silver growled in frustraition. "Miroku!" He called out.

Immediatly a black haired man with violet dancing eyes came forward. "Yes, Captain?"

"Take her to the ship!" He ordered throwing Kagome at Miroku. "She knows something. I want to know what!"

The man named Miroku nodded and threw her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

Silver grabbed her head and forced her to look at him. "I will find out what you know." He promised. Then he brought the butt of his sword down on her head.

She lost consiousness.

* * *

Kagome coughed and woke up slowly, her head throbbing painfully.

She groaned and opened her eyes.

She was in a prison of some sort laying on a wooden cot.

She put a hand to her head. It must have been because of the blow to her head but it felt like the very earth was moving back and forth.

Kagome sat up and looked around her. Where ever she was, it was made entirely of wood. The whole place was dark and damp.

Spying a window, she got up slowly and hobbled over to it. One look outisde made her back up quickly into the heavy wooden bars of her cell.

Water, blue crystal clear water. The moving of the earth was actually the rocking of a ship. She was on the ocean.

"Oh your up." A tiny childlike voice said.

Kagome turned with a gasp to see a small orange hair child sitting up from his position on top of a barrel. He was rubbing his eyes as if he had just woken up.

Kagome watched him with open eyes.

"The Captain said to fetch him when you woke up. I'll be back later, 'k?" and he leapt from his barrel and up a flight of stairs. He threw open a door and Kagome saw a flash of the endless blue sky before it shut again.

She stumbled to her cot and sat down trying to slow her breathing.

"I've...I've been captured...by pirates. And I'm on...I'm on the..." Her voice trailed off before she ran back to the window as the full force of where she was sank in. "I'm on the ocean!"

"Yes you are." A chilling voice from behind her said. She turned quickly and saw Silver walking towards her cell. "And you can get off the ocean and back on land if you just answer one, simple question."

Kagome tensed as she waited for it. "Where is...the Shikon...no Tama?" he said it slowly as if he knew her head wasn't working right.

"I know nothing." Kagome answered immediatly.

"Your a bad liar." he said.

And she was but she couldn't tell him. Every Singer knew a clue to the Shikon no Tama. It was a riddle that they would sing. However, if he knew she was a Singer...

"I know nothing." she repeated.

Silver growled menicingly. "You will tell me."

"I don't know what your talking about!" Kagome answered.

"Oh but you do." he snarled ripping open the door of her cage. "What do you know?"

"Nothing!"

"Tell me!" He grabbed her arms in a tight grip digging his claws deep into her skin.

"I don't know!" she said knowing her punishment would be worse if he knew the truth.

He snarled right in her face.

"Uh, Captain?" A quiet and calm voice said from behind.

"What?" He said turning his anger on the man Kagome remembered as Miroku.

"If I might make a suggestion?" Silver snarled his response.

Miroku smiled and walked into the suddenly cramped cell.

"What is your name, my lady?" He asked taking her hands while Silver backed off.

Kagome looked quickly between the two men and their totally different demeaners and answered shakily, "K...Kagome."

"Ah what a beautiful name. Kagome." he said it slowly with his eyes closed as if tasting a fine wine. "A perfect name for one such as yourself. Now, Kagome," he smiled at her as if sharing a secret, "The Captain is, believe or not, a very good man." Kagome tried not to snort. "Now all he wants to know, is what you know. You tell him, your off the ship at the next port and your stay until then will be pleasent."

"I don't know anything." Kagome repeated.

"Now Kagome, the Captain doesn't like being lied to." He growled at the end of Miroku's statement. "But if you tell the truth, nothing will happen."

"There is nothing to tell." Kagome responded immediatly.

The Captain snarled immpatiently and grabbed her by the arm again. Kagome squealed in protest as he dragged her roughly upstairs and out on deck.

He threw her to the ground next to a bucket and hand scrubber.

"If you know nothing, than you are now a slave upon my ship. Let's see if hard work jogs your memory." and he stopped off leaving Kagome alone.

She looked at the surounding pirates, they barely glanced at her, most didn't even act like they noticed her.

"Get to cleaning, wench!" the captain yelled from his seat overlooking the ship.

Kagome reached over and grabbed the scrubber.

Cleaning the deck was much better than being torutered and flogged. She dipped it into the soap and water and started working, if not gladly, than relieved that she wouldn't suffer the Singer's curse.

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Come one reviews people plz!!!!!


	4. Staring

**Disclaimer: NO I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege's belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

Why does only three people leave reviews, does no one like my story? I like it please review...*Sad face*

**Chapter 3: Staring**

Kagome was on her hands and knees scrubbing the deck ruthlessly.

Inuyasha watched her through the window in his cabin. "She knows something." he growled.

Miroku, behind him looking at the map said, "Maybe, but she's determined to hide it."

"Why?" Inuyasha asked.

"Well the Shikon no Tama is a very powerful jewel. Maybe she knows where it is and is supposed to keep people from finding it." Miroku looked at the compass next to his map.

"I don't think so." Inuyasha said.

"Why not?"

"The jewel is powerful, true. So do you think it's location would be entrusted to one person. No, that's not it."

"But your convinsed she knows something." Miroku shrugged. "What if it's just the legend?"

"If it was just the legend she would have told us. Everyone knows the legend. She knows something more."

"Maybe if you were nicer she would be more willing to tell us." Miroku said.

"Yeah right. You tried that yesterday. Didn't work."

"Ah, so you suppose getting her to hate us will make her tell all, yes?"

Inuyasha growled.

"I think I know why your doing this." Miroku said without looking up.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed because he knew what he was going to say.

"It's because she looks like..."

"Say her name and I pull your heart out and feed it to you." He snarled.

Miroku smiled remorsefully. "She looks like _her." _

"Not even a little bit." he snapped.

"It's in the face."

"Shut up." he growled through clenched teeth.

"Although Kagome's face has more..."

"If you value your life you won't say another word." Inuyasha turned away from the window and glared at him.

"All I'm saying," he went around the table and stood in front of his best friend. "is that you've been hanging onto her memory for 3 years. It's time to let go. Time to move on." he put his hand on his shoulder.

"I have moved on." Inuyasha knocked his hand off his shoulder and left the room.

"Sure you have." Miroku said under his breath.

* * *

Kagome picked up her bucket and wiped her forehead.

She started to move to a different spot when someone interrupted her path.

"Oh, hi again." the listen fox demon said with a smile.

"Hi." Kagome said cautiously.

So far, no one in the crew had attempted to talk to her. She didn't mind. Ignoring her was better than beating her, but they would all look at her from time to time as if they wanted to say something. Now the little fox kit was smiling at her and the crew was trying to discretely watch her and see what she would do.

"My name's Shippo. What's yours?" he asked happily.

"Um..Kagome."

"It's nice to meet you Kagome. I'm Shippo. I've been wanting to say hi since yesterday but the Captain ordered us to leave you to your work. I thought since you picked up your bucket that you were done. Are you?" he said all this very fast.

"Um..no. I was moving the bucket to another spot." Kagome pointed to an area of the deck she hadn't cleaned yet.

"Oh..." he paused for a second as if he was thinking then said, "Can I watch? I promise I won't get in your way."

"I don't mind." Kagome said smiling at him a little.

"Cool." he said following her and sitting down next to her bucket when she sat it down.

"The Captain says your are slave, is that true?" he asked watching as she scrubbed back and forth.

She didn't mind the manual labor much but it was hell on her back.

"I suppose since he captured me it's true." Kagome stopped long enough to pull her hair back into a knot.

"Oh. I think that's terrible." Shippo complained.

"Do you?" Kagome asked smiling at him again.

"Yup!" he said smiling back. "Most of the people on this ship were slaves."

"They were?" Kagome asked stopping for a second and sitting on her legs.

"Uh-huh. They come from towns where the Captain freed them. Some asked to leave, but others wanted to stay for him."

Kagome found that a little hard to believe but didn't say anything. From the look in Shippo's eyes he hero worshipped Silver.

"Were you a slave?" she asked gently.

"Me? No." he shook his head. "I was an orphan. The Captain found me starving and begging on the streets one day. He said, 'If you want some food follow me'." Kagome laughed at how he made his voice deep to try and sound like Silver. "So I did. Came on the ship, ate some food. Started learning how to work the ship. Just kind of, never left, y'know?"

Shippo looked at her funny, "You know, the Captain doesn't capture people without reason. Why did he capture you?"

"Maybe he wants me to clean his ship." Kagome answered getting back to work.

Shippo giggled. "No. That's my job normally. He must want you for something else."

"Well, he thinks I know something he wants to know." Kagome confided in a not so silent whisper.

"Do you?" Shippo asked.

Kagome didn't look him in the eye as she said, "Of course not. He'll realize that eventually. Until then, I guess I'm stuck swabbing the deck."

Shippo laughed with her.

* * *

"You know, maybe you were right." Miroku said coming up behind Inuyasha who was sitting in his chair.

"I'm always right." Inuyasha said turning his eyes away from the woman. "But remind me again why I'm right."

"Kagome seems to like kids." he said as she and Shippo stood up. The fox jumped up and landed on her shoulder, both of them smiling. "_She _hated kids."

Inuyasha's mood soured at the mention of her again.

"What are you trying to prove, Miroku?" he growled.

"Nothing. Just trying to figure out why you captured her."

"She knows..."

"Yes, yes I heard you the first time. But let's recap. You saved her from Dibious,"

"He knew we didn't hurt wemon or children. That was teaching a lesson."

"You brought her to the ship."

"And through her in the brig."

"You set her to work instead of twisting her arm to find out what you want."

"The crew wont follow my rules if I don't."

"And," he said like he was pulling an ace out of the hole. "you have been staring at her all day."

"I have not." Inuyasha snarled knowing perfectly well that he had.

Miroku smiled like he knew he had won. "Oh, but you have. You have been watching her like a mother hawk."

"Maybe I want her." He suggested.

"Ah, but if it were just that, you would have made moves toward her already."

Inuyasha grumbled because he knew he was right. It sucked when your best friend and first mate knew you so well.

"Maybe you do want her. But, there is something holding you back. Something you haven't let go of." Miroku hinted.

"Your pushing your luck real hard, Miroku."

"I'm just saying." he put up his hands in surrender.

"Well maybe it would be better for your health if you shut up. And set a course for home."

"Aye, Captain." Miroku turned and walked away.

Inuyasha looked and saw Kagome scrubbing at another spot talking happily with Shippo.

"Your doing it again." Miroku said walking by.

Inuyasha growled and held up his claws.

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come one please leave me reviews. I really do love them!!!


	5. Belonging

**Disclaimer: NO I do not own Inuyasha. That awesome privilege's belongs to Romiko Takahashi. Thank you!**

YAYAYAY!!! I got lots of reviews!!!...I got 7!! Wait...260 views...7 reviews....260...7....hmmm u ppl arn't leaving me reviews *sad Face* JKJKJK!!! But i do love reviews!!!

**Chapter 4:Belonging**

Within the next few days Kagome not only finished the deck daily, but she cleaned and polished the rails and got places on kitchen duty. She hardly ever saw Captain Silver but occasionally his first mate Miroku would hit on her. Every time he did this she fought the urge to slap him, as he was the man holding her prisoner...sort of.

The crew became less distant, even helpful sometimes. Only a few befriended her, the others it was a 'I'll leave you alone if you leave me alone' kind of thing.

Among her new friends were Shippo, who was always happy to sit and talk when he wasn't on duty, one of the few female pirates on board named Sango, she was just as much a sailor as the men and other women aboard, the black man she had seen in town also came forward and talked to her, his name was Rikos. He knew everything there was to know about the ship which, Kagome learned from him, was called _Hanyou no Siacuy._

_"Hanyou no Siacuy_?" Kagome asked him. "Isn't that the old language?"

"Yes it means..."

"The half-demon's sanctuary." she finished for him. She knew the ancient language just as well as she knew the one she spoke everyday. A Singer's songs were all in the ancient language. It gave the songs more power and strength.

"Yes." He said smiling at her. "You know the ancient language?"

"A few words." Kagome lied.

"Well not many people know the ancient language so not many understand what this ship is." he explained.

"A pirate ship?" She guessed.

"A sanctuary." He corrected quietly. "All of these people had no where to belong. We were all lost souls of one sort or another." He pointed to Shippo. "Starving orphan," Sango, "She was an abused whore in a terrible illegal brothel." He pointed to another. "Renkin there, he was a member of the Kings Navy but was flogged and exiled when he tried to speak out against them." He pointed to another black person, this time a women. "Marir there, she's my mate you know, she was a slave like me." he pointed at Miroku, "He was a monk who found an irresistible call for the woman you know." She smiled with him. "His fellow monks found out, he was excommunicated. He still follows his old ways though. Prays for each man killed, offers life philosophies, that kind of stuff."

"I get it." Kagome said smiling.

And she did. It seemed that the _Hanyou no Siacuy, _was exactly that, a half demon's sanctuary. Not for himself, but for everyone around him. For every soul that didn't belong. For every slave, every prostitute, every orphan, every one who didn't belong, belonged here.

"What happens to those who don't want to remain on this ship, but still want to belong?" Kagome asked.

Rikos smiled at her fondly. "They live at our port and make a new life for themselves."

"What is it?" Kagome asked.

"_Hium." _he answered. "Home."

"Hium!" the man in the crows nest called. "Hium!" The crew, en masse, got up and ran to the front of the ship to see their precious home.

"It is where we all belong." Rikos said softly before taking Marir's hand and walking to the rail with her.

Kagome watched as everyone cheered as they finally saw what Miun in the crows nest had seen all along.

"Easily excitable, arn't they?" Silver said from behind her.

Kagome jumped and turned.

She should hate him, she should think he was a horrible monster who deserved hell. He had kidnapped her, forced her from her home, made her work upon his ship.

And he had given a home to everyone who wanted it. He had united her, unknowingly, with her beloved ocean.

"Coming home is always something to be happy for, Captain." she said with a smile and, did he detect a hint of respect?

"Are you ready to tell me what you know yet?" He asked.

Kagome's eye's became guarded as she said, "I know nothing."

"Kagome come here! Look at this!" Sango called.

"Captain." she said turning away and walking toward her friends.

She may respect the Captain for what he had done, kinder seeming people had done worse to her people. The King's own Navy had treated her people badly. No. One good deed would not make her change her mind about her decision. But it would change her mind about him.

* * *

AN: Now if you people promise to leave me reviews I'll continue writing this chapter. Promise? Come on say it aloud. Promise? Good :)

* * *

"Look, Kagome. Isn't it the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?" Sango asked.

The island, from what she could see, wasn't very big. But it was green. It was warm and the water was crystal clear.

"This is our home. We're home." Sango said hugging Shippo.

"Hello ladies." Miroku said coming up behind them and placing a hand on their rears all the while showing an angels smile.

Kagome stiffened as Sango shook in anger. Finally Sango screamed out. "Captain?"

"Yes?" he said calmly calming up behind them.

"Permission to punish?" She asked.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and looked at Miroku's face that begged for him to say no and said, "Knock yourself out."

Kagome and Sango turned at once and smacked Miroku on opposites sides of his face. They both screamed out at once, "Pervert!"

"Permission granted to all the women who find his wondering hands on them." Inuyasha said trying not to laugh as his first mate cried out in dismay.

The other wemon smiled darkly as they stared at him.

"Um..Captain?"

"Prepare to disembark." he ordered walking away.

"Captain, can we talk about this?" Miroku asked.

"No."

"Look if this is about the other day...."

"If it was it wouldn't be wise for you to bring it up, would it?" Inuyasha asked before walking into his cabin.

Sango and Kagome laughed as Sango walked her friend back toward Sango's station.

"Oh this ship shall be so much more fun now that I can take out my frustrations on Miroku's wondering hands."

"Deffinatly." Kagome said smiling.

As they pulled into port and Rikos taught her how the ship handled and the gangplank was descended, Kagome made a shocking discovery.

She walked off the ship under the eye of uncaring Silver. No one in the town of Hium questioned her presence. No one stared at her as if she was a slave or prisoner.

They welcomed her like any other member of the crew. She saw some members unloading the ship bringing food, clothes, jewels and passing them around town.

She was handed a piece of bread with the rest of the crew and a flagon of mead. She was welcomed home just as happily.

And she realized, she was no longer a prisoner, no longer a slave, she was a member of the crew.

She suddenly, belonged.

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well what do you think. Maybe I got to this point to fast but I like it. Feedback what do you think???


	6. Hium

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Okay, if no one noticed, I stopped writing this story to finish my other one but now I'm back and this story now has my undivided unattention. ooh look a pretty butterfly........

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....Okay now the story has my undivided attention. *steals glance at butterfly*

**Chapter 5: Hium**

They stayed at Hium for only three days so that the should could resupply and get back on the ocean.

But Kagome discovered so much about herself in those three days.

She learned that she had a love for adventure.

"So, what's in there?" Kagome asked pointing at the surrounding forest of the town.

"Animals, plants, trees, you know the normal stuff." Sango said not looking up from the sails she was sowing.

Sango and a select choice of other tuff fingered individuals were chosen for the duty. Kagome would have helped but she didn't know much about sails and could do more harm than good, besides they used thick metal needles not the wooden ones she was practiced in.

Instead of sewing sails, Kagome had been set to making nets for catching fish while the men were out at sea. It was a thoughtless repetative task that needed to be done. Thankfully, Kagome could get away with using wooden needles for crochteting the thick net. So she sang songs to make the work faster and neater. But she was always with Sango and the others who would sew the sails so they were all in the spoken language and therefore didn't have as much power as her other ones. And beside that, she couldn't direct the needles like she did in the ancient songs so she had to make them up. It often made for weird songs that she and the others laughed at, but hey, it got the work done.

"_1,2,3 pull, pull it all the way through." _She sang to her own melody her fingers only mimicking the work her songs were doing.

Sango would tap her foot and move her own needle in time with Kagome's melody.

"You have such a pretty voice, you know that?" she said. Kagome shrugged and kept singing with a smile on her face.

But Kagome had finished her net and was just waiting for Sango to finish. "I mean besides the normal." Kagome rolled her eyes.

"Well, the occasional demon or two and of course there's a few other predators. But no one really goes in there."

"Why not?"

"Too dangerous. No one knows whats in there. Better to stay where your safe than risk death just for curiousity."

Kagome gave her a flat look, "Funny philosaphy for a _pirate_." Kagome said emphisising the pirate.

Sango smiled. "True but it's still an unknown. Besides don't you know the saying curiosity killed the cat?"

"Yes I have and I have a theory about that."

"Oh?"

"Yes. It wasn't looking at what he found curiouse that killed him. It was the feeling of not knowing and wanting to know. In fact, I believe it was curiosity itself that killed the cat not what he found out being driven by his curiosity."

Sango laughed. "Maybe your right. But it's still not safe."

"So? I want to know."

Sango looked at her. "Hey, I'm almost done. How about we go satisfy your killer curiosity when I'm done?"

"Really? Oh thank you Sango!" Kagome hugged her.

"But I have to finish first." Sango chided returning to her work.

* * *

The girls walked into the forest Kagome eager to see everything.

"Bet I can run faster than you." Sango dared.

"Race you to that tree." Kagome pointed.

"Your on." and Sango took off.

"Hey!" Kagome ran off. "You started early, cheater.

"Pirate!" Sango reminded her still going. She didn't stop at the tree and niether did Kagome. They both kept running laughing like maniacs. there were roots to jump, branches and vines to duck, and then of coruse keeping track of each other.

Kagome trailed behind most of the way because Sango had the advantage of tougher muscles from a harder life. "Wait up!" Kagome yelled at her.

"Slow poke! Come on!" Sango shouted starting to run faster. They had gotten so deep into the forest that most of the branches over head were blocking out a good portion of the light.

"No fair!" Kagome tried to speed up but failed to see a root sticking out of the ground and tripped.

"Woh!" she called out as she went down.

"Stupid root." she sat up shaking her head. In revenge she kicked it and, though it was petty, she stuck her tongue out at it. She stood up and glared down at it. "That's what you get for tripping me."

"Sango!" She called turning around but her friend was gone. "Sango!" she yelled again.

"Hello!" she started walking forward. "Oh come on." She stuck her hands on her waist.

"Now I have to walk all the way back by myself." she turned around and started walking her breathing still hard from her extended run.

She started singing to pass the time. For the first time in a while, it was in the ancient language. The forest responded to her voice by dancing. Not in a way recognizable by man, but easily recognizable by nature. The vines started swaying in the wind and the leaves shook and danced. Small birds started chirping with her and she heard a rabbit thumb out a beat.

The trees groaned softly as they moved infentesamily back and forth.

For the first time in her memory she let her power flow with nature creating a song so entricate and yet so simple it echoed to very essence of nature.

Kagome felt the trees around her, was one with the ground still soaked with moisture from a day of rains beneath her feet, the air around her seemed to move her and she felt her spirit flying accord with the small animals around her.

But suddenly the birds stopped chirping and flew off self preservation interfering with the magic of her song. Kagome stopped immediatly and felt her spirit and conciousness return to her body. The rabbit was gone, the trees and their leafes were still, and Kagome froze at the sound of something behind her growling.

She turned slowly hoping not to make whatever it was more inclined to chase her.

The moutain lion growled at her from it's perch in the lowest branches of a tree.

* * *

Sango ran out of the forest fear making her feet faster.

"Captain!" she yelled running into town.

Immediatly the villagers stopped and asked what happened.

"Kagome...me and....*huff puff*....we were..."

"Sango breath!" Miroku yelled coming up behind her. "Now what about Kagome."

"We were running and I lost her. I looked her but I can't find her."

"Running where?" Miroku asked.

"The forest."

Miroku looked shocked. "Sango that forest is full of moutain lions and demons and who knows what else. What were you two doing in there."

"Just running and I lost her. What if something finds her? And it's hungery?"

"Where?" The captain asked coming up from behind Miroku.

"In there!" Sango pointed to the forest she just exsited.

"In there!" Silver got mad. "Why is she in there!"

"We were just fooling around and...." Sango cut off and went pale when they heard an earsplitting femanin scream.

Suddenly cut short.

Silver took off into the woods without another word as Miroku took charge ordering a small armed search party.

Kagome was, after all, not a prisoner anymore, but a member of the crew.

* * *

She was running as fast as she could but the lion kept up easily.

He had taken a leap at her, jumping out of the tree sending a scream from her throat before her own self preservation took over and she shut up and ran.

The lion enjoyed the hunt just as much as it needed the meat for nurishment.

Kagome was no where near as nimble or as fast as the giant cat who lived in this forest that Kagome was lost in.

She ducked a low hanging tree branch and started singing in hope that savage beasts really did tame with music. But the lion was a living creatue and she had no power over a living thing unless it gave it to her.

So her song didn't work.

Then she made the stupidest mistake someone being chased can make, she turned around and looked behind her.

And slammed her head against another low hanging branch.

She fell down with a grunt of pain and landed right at the lions feet.

It growled at her and lifted it's paw to strike her.

Kagome closed her eyes but the hit never came.

She opened them slightly and saw Silver grabbing the animals paw while the lion looked infuriated at having been interupted.

"Go find your dinner elsewhere." he growled.

The lion growled back and turned it's attention to the captain.

* * *

Inuyasha jumped back as the lion took a swipe at his with his killer claws. He jumped around as the lion chased him completely ignoring Kagome who sat on the ground staring at him.

He hated to admit it but his prisoner had become a member of the crew in shorter time than he would have believed possible. The crew seemed to like her well enough and she wasn't afraid to work or learn. And there was this aura of peace around her that made it easy to get close.

If he was honest with himself, he enjoyed having her on his ship. And even though he still wanted to get want she knew he was willing to wait.

There was some internal instinct, the same that led him to her town, that said that patience would be the only way to get what he wanted from her.

So he fought of the lion, he didn't kill it. The lion was only doing what it had to in order to survive and could not be faulted for that. But he sent it running away.

He didn't injure it too badly either, that would be just as bad as killing him but the resulting death would just come on slower.

He turned to Kagome who was still sitting on the ground her breathing hard.

"Are you alright?" He asked noticing his own breathing was a little ragged from his adrenaline rush from both the fight and the run here.

"Yes." Kagome answered standing up quickly.

"It didn't hurt you?"

"No." Kagome hold her arms to her chest. She didn't want to admit that she found the captain much more attractive than should have been normal.

"Come on. Get on my bacl." he turned around and sank to the ground.

Kagome bit her lip but before she could make a dicision Silver snapped, "Hurry up!"

She nodded and got on his back quickly.

He jumped through the forest canopy giving Kagome a clear view of the island.

The sun was setting casting the ocean on fire and the town was a glow with torch light and the sound of men yelling to each other. The green of the trees spread beneath them like a blanket.

And Silver's magnificent ship was decked in the harbor and Kagome was filled with a feeling of home.

Then he fell back to earth and jumped on the highest branches toward the town.

Kagome kept her head low barried beneath his hair and whispered in his ear, "Thank you."

Was it just the red from the setting sun casting that glow on his face, or was the captain, the fiercest pirate to sail the seas, actually blushing.

"Forget it." he said.

* * *

The took off the next day with a crowd all screaming good-bye from the port with many wishes of good luck.

"I'm sorry." Sango said for the thousanth time pulling one of the ropes taught and tieing it off.

"I said forget it, Sango. I'm fine. The captain saved me."

"But still..."

"You know Sango if you really want to appologize you could do me a huge favor."

"Anything."

"Can you teach me how to fight?"

"How to...Of course I can." Sango brightened up immediatly.

"Thanks." Kagome said looking out into the ocean. She enjoyed being at Hium, but her home, would always be on the open ocean.

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Dang that chapter was long. I hope you all enjoyed and are leaving me reviews!!!


	7. Sewing

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Hi dramakagome good to hear from you again :D BTW yes u did review an earlier chapter, I don't remember which but you did. I'm so glad I haven't lost you :D Heres the next chapter!

**Chapter 6: Sewing**

"Aw dammit!" Rikos said dejectedly looking down at his vest.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked him. She had been talking to Shippo who was sitting on the ship's rail much to her disaproval. She was always scared he would fall.

"I ripped my vest." he said showing her the tear in the seam.

Kagome reached for it and he took it off and gave it to her. "Wow, how did you do this?" she asked sticking her whole hand throw the rip.

"Don't make it worse." he said unhappily. The vest was the only shirt he wore. One reason was he said it made him look really good with his muscles showing, but the other was that they were pirates and clothing wasn't exactly right at hand when you needed it.

"Can't you mend it?" Kagome asked.

"Me? Nah man. I'm practiced with a spear not a needle. Besides even if I was, we only have those crappy wooden ones." he looked sadly at his vest.

Kagome made a choice.

"You know, I could fix this for you tonight. If you want."

"Really? You'd do that for me? I mean, no one on the ship knows how to sew, especially with wooden needles."

"Don't worry. You'll have it back by tomorrow." Kagome assured him. "Put this where I sleep and I'll get to it before I go to bed."

"Aw thanks Kags! Your the best." He took the vest and ran down to the cargo hold where Kagome slept each night.

"Can you really fix it?" Shippo asked. "Normally if we break something we have to just keep wearing it until we find another one."

"Of course I can fix it." Kagome smiled at him and got back to work.

Shippo jumped off the rail and landed in front of her. "Well see, it's just that....well I..."

"Need something mended?" Kagome finished.

"Yeah. Could you?" he looked at her with big eyes.

She laughed. "Of course. Put it in my room. And anything else you need, 'k?"

He nodded and ran off but was stopped by Miroku.

Kagome giggled and returned to work.

* * *

Kagome yawned and took one last look at the dark ocean before going under to the cargo hold. She waved to the night navigator, Jakues, he nodded back.

She stretched and opened the door to the small storage room she had chosen as her own.

Then stopped dead and looked around. Her room was filled with clothes and cloth all with tears and mends.

"This can't all be Shippo's." she said holding up a womens shirt. "Deffinatly not Shippo's." She dropped it and saw Rikos' vest. She moved the black pants off them and saw a box with a note attached.

_Do you mind?_

_Miroku_

She looked around at all the torn clothes.

She laughed and shook her head.

"Better get to work." she opened the door and looked around.

No one was there.

"Anyone there?" No harm to check.

When no one answered she shut the door and sang a quick spell in the old language sealing the door from any noise. Those outside couldn't hear in, but she could hear out.

"All right." She opened the box and saw a whole lot of needels and a bunch of different colored and textured thread.

"Where did they steal this?" She wondered.

_"Weiun." _She sang to the wooden needles. They responded by leaping out of the box and landing in order from largest to smallest in front of her.

"_Wieun no kiamass. Carpotumasi. Ensavas."_

The thread unspooled itself and the ends waited.

Kagome sighed and picked up the black pants. they were ripped at the bottom area.

So she sang. She sang the thread into the needles, the needles into the cloth in patterns fast and neat. One at a time, each beautifully done.

But around midnight all the work caught up to her. Singing wasn't hard. Anyone could do it. But Singing, controlling the elements took real, hard work. So right in the middle of someone's green shirt she collapsed as did the thread ends and the spell sealing the door.

And she slept there, her energies completely spent.

* * *

"Kagome." Rikos opened the door with Shippo on his shoulder and peered inside.

"Woh." He said looking at the mountain of clothing. One one side it was all thrown everywhere in a jumbled mess.

But on the other side everything was folded and neatly mended.

However, in the middle, between the two was Kagome laying under a half finished green shirt completely wiped out.

"Damn Shippo. How much of this is yours?"

"I only needed a pair of pants mended." Shippo said.

"Then where did this come from?"

"Well, I told Miroku and Miun about it."

"And of course they told all their friends."

"Who told all their friends what?"

Rikos and Shippo stiffened at the captain's vioce.

"Oh well, hey Cap." Rikos said.

"What do you two look so guilty?" He asked walking toward them.

"Nothing." Rikos said quickly answering the question wrong.

"What are...Kagome!" He saw her lying on the floor passed out amid a bunch of clothes.

The sound of her name had her fluttering her eyelashes and yawning as she sat up.

"Rikos. Shippo what..." she blinked at them tiredly but then sat up when she saw Silver. "Captain!"

"What's going on here?" He asked.

"Oh well see...funny story." Rikos said nervously. "I asked Kagome to fix a vest for me, then shippo asked her to fix his pants. Then he told Miroku and Miun that Kagome could sew, and of course they told some people and they told some people and well..."

"It's my fault." Kagome covered for him getting up. "I shouldn't have tried to do so much at once. *yawn* it won't happen again."

"Damn right it won't! Not if it makes you this tired. When did sewing become something exhausting to do?"

"I just overextended myself." Kagome shook her head not refering to the sewing but the magic.

"Damn right you did!" Inuyasha growled. "Lay your ass back down. Your no use to me if you can't stand up strait. Sleep it off, you can start cleaning again tomorrow. And no more sewing yourself into exhaustion!"

"Aye captain!" Kagome said yawning at the same time.

"You two!" The captain snapped at Rikos and Shippo.

"Get the finished clothes upstairs and pass them back to whoever owns them. And tell everyone to leave Kagome alone for a few hours."

"Aye captain!" They said.

Silver nodded them turned around and walked back upstairs.

Once he left they immediatly started appologizing while they gathered the finished stuff.

"Forget it." Kagome smiled tiredly at them. "Few more hours sleep and I'll be just fine."

They smiled their apologies then took the clothes and left.

Kagome stretched and layed back down happy the captain had taken mercy on her.

Another point in his favor.

* * *

Inuyasha watched as people happily got ripped and torn, now mended and patched, clothing back.

Rikos was wearing his vest again proudly showing off Kagome's near invisable stitches.

Inuyasha hadn't liked the sight of her passed out from exhaustion. He had seen it often enough in his crew after a hard battle, but never after a long night of sewing.

But that wasn't his problem, his problem was Kagome working herself to the bone at all. She shouldn't pass out from being so tired.

He sqeezed the wood of the ships railing as he admited something to himself he had been trying not to.

_She means a lot more to me than I'm fully ready to admit."_

And it wasn't her likeness to Kikyo that made her mean so much to him.

She did look a little like her, but only at first glance. After a while their differences became so pernouced it was like they were two totally different people, which they were.

Kikyo's face had been serious, and her smiles were always guarded.

Kagome had a round happy face, she easily smiled and perjected her happiness to the world.

Kikyo had been rich and powerful.

Kagome was neither.

But the most stunning difference of all was one you couldn't see. Kikyo was a Singer.

Her family had denied their heritage for so long they didn't even teach their children the Songs anymore. They became rich, influental, and powerful. And the more of that they became, the further from thier Singer ancestory they drifted.

Inuyasha didn't critisize them when he found out. He undertood what they were going through, a little.

Half demons were hated and were neither human nor demon. Therefor they didn't fit in anywhere.

However half demons weren't tortured and forced to Sing for masters. The very thought of those people who treated Singers like dirt made him mad. It was so much like what they did to half demons, only worse.

Even if what those people said was true, that Singers were a tool at the captain's hand and he could treat them as he pleased, even if that was true, which it wasn't, tools had to be treated properly and well cared for or they stopped working.

No one had seemed to understand that.

Or even better, seem to understand that Singers were humans too. They just had a gift.

After Kikyo he had made Hium a place for Singers to escape to, but it had transformed into something else entirly. A safe haven for anyone.

That didn't meen he hadn't found any Singers. He had. But everytime he had saved them from another pirate ship they had all died within hours and, if they were lucky, sometimes days.

The tortures inflicted on them was horrible and disgusting.

"Captain?" a small voice pulled him out of his angry thoughts.

"Kagome." he said looking at her.

"I want to thank you." She said.

"For?"

"For letting me get some rest."

Inuyasha shook his head, "It was no problem. You needed it."

"Still, thank you." She smiled at him sending his heart racing.

"If you ever need anything mended, I'm right here."

Inuyasha nodded. "Sure."

She nodded back and walked away.

Inuyasha smirked.

As he watched her grab her bucket he actually smiled and thanked God Miroku wasn't around to tease him about it.

But right then, he let his pain from Kikyo go. She was a part of his past, and he meaned nothing to her anymore, so she shouldn't mean anything to him.

So he let her memory fly free and get swept away in the waves of the ocean. Then he walked forward to talk to Kagome...

When a cannon blast shook the wood beneath his feet.

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That's enough for now I think. You want more, I want reviews. I think we can work something out here. Hmmm? BTW, no dramakagome you arn't anoying me, I love your reviews. :D


	8. The Battle

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Lol man! There's this chick named dramakagome and she keeps leaving me these crazy funny as hell reviews. Man I never get tired of her. XD

**Chapter 7: The Battle**

Kagome jerked forward as a huge cannon blast ripped threw the air.

"Captain!" She heard Miroku yell. "Ship off the port bow!"

"Bring up the sails! Load the guns!" he yelled turning into the fierce captain he was famed for being.

"Kagome!" Shippo ran over to her. "We have to go under!" he yelled.

"What?" it seemed all her wits had been stolen from her.

"I'm just a kid and you can't fight well yet. Come on!" he pulled on her hand and another cannon blast sent her running after him.

"Prepare for battle!" Silver shouted. "Kagome!" he turned to her.

"Captain?" she answered just a little afraid. She knew this was a pirate ship and attack was inevitable, but she didn't think she would have to see it.

Inuyasha saw the fear that she was trying to keep inside. Rikos had been teaching her about the ship, he knew that, he also knew she was almost as good as any of his crew now.

But she was not ready for battle yet. She was not ready to see bloodshed or even cause it.

So he changed his orders, "Get under into the cargo hold and stay there."

"Aye captain!" she said as if she wasn't going to do just that.

"I hate pirates." he said as Miroku walked over next to him.

"Me too. Always attacking us for no reason and shit." Inuyasha smirked evily to his friends response.

"I've been aching for a good fight." he popped his knuckles dangerously.

Miroku sighed. "I shall hate every second of it. But I will fight for my crew."

"Oi! This is my crew." Inuyasha said knowing his mate was screwing with him.

"Only until you die, mate." Miroku smiled as the first of their cannons blasted.

* * *

Kagome and Shippo ran deep into the belly of the ship no where near where the cannons blasted.

Kagome screamed slightly as another cannon shot his the ship causing it to rock.

"Come on, Kagome!" Shippo ran back to her obviously used to this kind of thing.

She nodded and followed him into the cargo hold and they hid together amid the boxes and crates.

Kagome covered her ears as one of their own cannons went off. She hated to act like such a steriotypical girl, but she was scared and she had never been in this situation before.

"It's okay, Kagome." Shippo said calmy. "Captain will beat them off then come back down and tell us we can leave."

"How do you know we'll win?" Kagome asked him.

Shippo looked at her like she was crazy. "Because the captain never looses."

* * *

Inuyasha stabbed someone from behind. Normally he wouldn't sink to something as low as attacking an enemy from behind, but the man had been about to do the same thing to Marir.

"Thanks Cap!" she said wiping her brow before returning to the fight.

Inuyasha had already moved on and was fighting a qiuck moving tiger demoness.

She managed to slice a small cut on his arm before he cut her down mercilessly.

Inuyasha was not a crual man, or he didn't think so. He didn't enjoy spilling so much blood, but these people would spill his just as quickly. And he had his crew and ship to protect.

He jumped from his ship to their attackers with a single leap and threw himself into fighting next to Miroku.

Back to back they fought off what remained of the crew on the opposite ship.

"Know who captains this ship wreck yet?" Inuyasha asked pulling his sword from a human man.

"That would be me." A huge giant walked over to them. If Inuyasha was around six feet tall, this man had to be at least ten.

"Wow, big boy." Inuyasha said not impressed.

Just another pirate who thought lokos and size were all that mattered.

"Do you think he's compensating for something?" Miroku asked causing the man to growl unimpressively.

"That's not how you growl." Inuyasha said growling back with a snarl. "This, is how you growl."

The man cried out in anger and swung at Inuyasha. He jumped nimbaly out of the way and landed a few more feet away.

"Too easy." He smiled showing his fangs.

* * *

"This is it. The cargo hold." Kagome and Shippo fell silent as they heard people they didn't know climb down to the hold.

"They got anything good?" A second man asked his voice alot more rough than the other's.

"Nah. Mostly food." They heard something being thrown on the floor. "Must have just made port."

"Man. We sacked this wreck for nothing." some more sounds of things being tossed around.

Shippo made a fist and acted like he was about to go after them. Kagome tried to grab him to pull him back but he left and disapeared in a cloud of smoke.

"What was that?" they came over to where she was and saw her hand still extended trying to catch Shippo.

"Who's there?" they called and she heard swords being drawn.

"BOO!" A huge pink blob with crazy eyes and tiny arms and legs floated down from the ceiling making wierd noises.

Kagome stuck her head from around the crate she was hidding behind and saw them looking at Shippo like they couldn't believe what they were seeing. But not like it was scaring them.

Kagome dropped her head into her hand as they busted out laughed.

"Arn't you scared?" A really fake deep voice asked.

"Of you?" The bigger of the two asked. "Not likely." He thrust his sword forward scaring Shippo and making him transform back.

"Ahhh!" he screamed running across the boxes being chased by the men.

"Come here and play with us little boy." the smaller one said with a sick smile.

Kagome crawled out of her hiding spot toward a large wooden board.

Shippo was scared and sad. Sad his attempt to scare them off, scared they were chasing him.

"Ahhh!" He screamed again jumping across another box.

The two men were hot on his heels as he turned a corner around two large crates stacked on top of each other.

The men made to follow but were stopped by a flying wooden board to their faces.

Kagome smacked them as hard as she could hitting the shorter one in the face and the taller in the neck.

The taller men started to choke and dropped his sword to grab his neck.

The other man fell back a few feet and grabbed his undoubtably broken nose.

"You bitch." He yelled running at her with his sword.

Kagome fought back as best she could with her board, which easily stopped the swords hits. But it took a toll on her weaker arms as his brute force slammed into them again and again.

"What are you doing?"

Kagome turned and saw the captain walking toward her looking fierce.

"Captain?" She asked. He should't be here because she still heard sounds of the battle above.

"Captain?" The man asked looked at him. "That's....that's....Captain Silver!" he turned and ran away in fear. His friend wasn't far behind still choking from Kagome's hit.

Kagome dropped the board and looked at Silver in confusion.

"Captain?"

"We sure scared them didn't we Kagome?" He asked smiling playfully.

Kagome had never seen that look on his face and got even more confused.

Until he disapeared in a cloud of smoke to be replaced by Shippo.

"Not bad, huh?" He asked looking proud of himself while Kagome laughed.

"Very good." She admired him still smiling.

* * *

Inuyasha snorted as the other captain went down with ease. "Boring." he said jumping back onto his ship as he felt this one starting to sink from the holes his crew was putting in their ship.

Inuyasha had taught his crew well. One half of their cannons fired directly at the ship trying to take out the opponents cannons and just causing damage. But the other half he had pointing down at the ships bottom to sink the ship quicker.

The men grabbed as much valubles as they could before the ship disapeared beneath the waves before jumping back on Inuaysha's ship.

The prisoners, he had none, so they were thrown out after the sinking ship and the crew cheered their victory.

But just before the ship disapeared two men came running out of the cargo hold screaming about terrifying pirates and jumping out after their ship without prompting.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow as a giggling Shippo and Kagome emerged.

He jumped in front of them but the sight of him seemed to set them off further.

"Are you going to let me in on the joke?" He asked crossing his arms. He was trying not to give into his totally irrational disire to check Kagome over and make sure she was okay.

Shippo started rolling around on deck laughing so Kagome told him what had happened.

Inuyasha's eye twitched as he found out what Shippo had done.

"Well you faught off two pirates which is more than I thought you would be able to do. Good job." He said in particular to Kagome. Shippo had really only used Inuyasha's image and reputation to fight where as Kagome had actually taken physical blows.

Kagome blushed. "It was nothing. Shippo did everything."

"Not true. You fought yourself."

Kagome blushed harder and mumbled thanks.

"Good work everyone." Inuyasha said. "Who needs medical attention?" He asked.

A few bleeding and wounded raised their hands.

"I'll help." Kagome said immediatly going back into the cargo hold to get their medical supplies.

"Those who need it, line up here." Inuyasha said pointing to the starbord side.

Kagome came back a box of medicines in her hands.

"Know how to use those?" Inuyasha asked.

"In a village as small as mine, with a brother as small as mine, you pick up a few things." Kagome smiled and walked over to the injured.

Inuyasha checked his own cut and saw it already half healed and walked back to his chair.

He watched over the ship and was fiercly glad Miroku needed his own hand treated to so he didn't see all the glances Inuyasha stole at Kagome.

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Leave me lots of reviews plz!! =D


	9. Again?

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

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**Chapter 8: Again?**

Kagome was leaning against the railing of the ship looking out into the clear blue ocean. It was amazing how many shades the ocean was. From the Kirikos Islands turqious to this deep dark blue of the ocean. Then it changed colores through out the course of the day. From the delicate pinks and purples of sunrise to the fiery oranges and reds that set the water afire at sunset and the black abis it became at night.

Then of course there was it's many shapes. The explosive angery waves during a storm and the quiet tranquil almost glassy surface when it was calm and not a wind stirred the peaceful water. And when you added all of the sea life that never failed to surprise and delight her. Like the large but usually friendly whales that occasionally rose above the water with a gyser. Or the playfull dolphins that jumped and fliped along the ships sides.

Kagome was laughing at a pair that were playing with the ship and wishing she could be with them dancing carelessly beneath the waves.

"Enjoying yourself?"

Kagome turned with a smile to Silver who was watching her with a peaceful expression.

"I love the ocean." Kagome said.

"As do I. Any sailors true love is the ocean. She's his mistress, his lady," He turned to her, "his heart."

Kagome felt butterlies in her stomach and turned her head so he couldn't see the blush on her cheeks.

But he saw it anyway and captured her face and turned her back to him. "Don't hide that charming blush."

Kagome felt her breath stop as he moved closer to her.

_What's...what's going on? Is this really happening? _She thought franticly as he gently grabbed her waist and pulled her closer.

He was inches from her face. She could feel his breath on her face making her dizzy as she wanted dearly to let him close that distance.

But Inuyasha stopped when he felt a small restraining hand on his chest.

He looked down with amusment as he saw her hand.

"Why not?" He asked.

Kagome needed him to back up so she could put a rational thought together but he wouldn't.

"I...I don't...I don't even...know you." She finished looking at him sadly.

"That hasn't stopped people before." He pointed out but he backed up a little giving her enough space to put her thoughts in order.

"But it will stop me." Kagome said regretfully. "Captain, I...I do want you. I know what disire is. But....I don't even know your name. Unless your name really is..."

"Inuyasha." He said quietly cutting her off and pushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What?"

"Inuyasha." He repeated. "My mom was very knowladgeable of the old language. It means dog demon."

Kagome's gaze traveled from his clawed hands that were gently rubbing circles on her hips to the fangs behind those seductive lips and to the fuzzy silver ears perched atop his head that she had wanted to touch since she saw them.

"Inuyasha." She said tasting the word.

It was a good strong name that fit him so well.

"Captain!" Miroku called.

Inuyasha sighed and looked at her regretfully. "Next time." He promised before turning away from her and walking toward his first mate.

Kagome grabbed the rail to keep her weak knees from failing on her.

Inuyasha had no idea why he had told her. Or even why he had talked to her in the first place. Maybe it was the cloudless joy that had been on her face when she looked at the dolphins. She had been so beautiful in that moment he had been unable to stop himself from talking with her. Then that blush had flushed her face so prettily. He had never intended to give her his name, but he was glad he had now. He wanted her to know his name. To know everything about him. And he wanted to know everything about her.

It was a completely stupid disire and he knew it was more than lust. It was the same feeling he had had about Kikyo, but at the same time different.

No this wasn't love, but it wasn't simple lust either. It had the potental to be love, he knew that, with a little more prodding it would be love. But he didn't know, dispite what had just happened, if he was completely ready for love again.

* * *

"So we need a new heading. Where to captain." Miroku asked unrolling the map in the captains quaters.

Miroku took the time to put a black slash through Kagome's village then looked at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had the tip of his dagger in his teeth thinking.

Then without warning her throw the knife and it landed in the middle of open water next to a large land mass.

Miroku read the name of the nearest port. "Qiunten?"

"No. The island."

Miroku looked again. "Captain is there something wrong with your eyes? There is no island there."

"Go to that place. There is an island there. I just have not been there in many years."

Inuyasha left without a word and Miroku sqiunted at the map trying to find the island.

* * *

Inuyasha had taken over control of the wheel. He wanted to feel the ship beneath him and control it. And he wanted a reason to keep his eye off Kagome.

She tempted much more than he was prepared to admit.

"Inuyasha?" A small voice interupted his thoughts.

"Yes Kagome." He said not taking his eyes off the compass that told him where they were headed.

"You know that thing you keep asking me about? What's it called again?" Kagome asked faking not knowing.

Inuyasha felt his instincts stirring and knew better than to jump down her throat about what she knew. So he played along.

"The Shikon no Tama. The Jewel of the Sea."

"Yes, that?" Kagome smiled at him. "What is it? What do you know of it?"

The first question she asked was to keep up the fiction of her ignorence, but the second was what she really wanted to know.

"The Shikon no Tama is an ancient and powerful jewel." Inuyasha answered as honestly as he could. He knew what he told her know would dictate what she told him if she told anything at all. "It is said that the one who controls this jewel can control the entire sea. Legend says that it was created by a powerful Singer."

"Singer?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. Someone who can control things with their voice." Inuyasha clearified. It wasn't unheard of, particularly in small villages, for people to not know what a Singer was. "Anyway, according to legend, Modoriko, the Singer, was the most powerful Signer that had ever been before, or since. Legend says that she created the Shikon no Tama from the ocean itself."

"Why?" Kagome asked standing at his elbow but not looking at him.

"Supposedly she created it for the man she loved, so he could travel the sea with her. Share in her power, share her love of the ocean. However after she gave him the jewel the man's true nature came out. Cold, greedy, and heartless. He used the power for his own personal gain terrorizing the ocean and killing inocents until finally Modoriko caught up with him. And slew him." Inuaysha looked at Kagome but her face was carefully blank. "After that she hid the jewel since it was too powrful to destroy and died of a broken heart shortly after that."

"And you want to control the sea too, is that correct?" Kagome's voice was still nutral.

"No."

"No?"

"No. I want to live freely with my people on Hium."

"Then why..."

"With the jewel I can keep others from finding my island, from trying to hurt those who seek shelter there. I don't want the jewel for myself. I want it for my people."

Kagome looked at him her face unreadable. His speach was filled with passion and honesty. And yet....

And yet there was still something holding her back.

Maybe it was the lessons her mother taught her, never never never tell who you are and what you know. Or maybe it was the fact that she still didn't know what his thoughts were on Singers.

But the reason was moot, she just couldn't bring the words to tell.

"Thank you, captain." she said turning away her face thoughtful.

Inuyasha watched her go wondering if he had given her the answers she needed.

But she was stopped by Miroku's shout. "Captain, a ship!"

Inuyasha ran Miroku's side. "Colors?"

"Jolly Rodger." Miroku said grimly.

"Again?" Kagome cried dismayed.

Rikos laughed at her reaction. "Two ships in as many weeks. We'll have a good haul this trip."

Kagome shook her head and started to the cargo hold.

But she heard something that made her stop dead and run to the rail in shock.

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LOL. Merry Christmas, Happy Kwanza(spl), Happy Ramadon, Happy Holidays to cover any I missed!


	10. Singers

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Sorry for the long wait. I know you guys were like yay, vacation now she'll write alot more and then I didn't. Would you forgive me if I said I had a good reason? I went to my dad's house and he doesn't have internet so I was left stewing for ten days with no one to write to. I'm sorry :D!! But I am now back and here is the next chapter. BTW, how was everyone's holidays?

**Chapter 9: Singers**

Kagome stared with open eyes at the proof of a fact that she had known for longer than she could really understand it.

Three singers, three, were at the bow of the ship singing in weakened but still earily beautiful voices. A man who had his arm around a women and a child held prtectivly in front of them. Clearly a family. The father was the most battered with half of his face puffed up and dried blood on his face and arms with still fresh wounds not hidden by the tattered rags he wore. The mother too looked like she had gone through the meat grinder but the most sickening thing was the child who was in just as bad shape as his parents.

They were singing a tune to intice the wind in favor of the ships course, but that wasn't all. Another, smaller melody was weaving throughout the song. The Song of Life.

A growl broke Kagome's horrified thoughts. Inuyasha stood next to her his claws digging into the wood of the railing.

"Captain?" Kagome asked wondering at his furious expression.

"It's disgusting." He said his growl lowering in anger.

"He hates it." Miroku said coming up on her other side. "Singers being totured." He clarified.

Kagome looked in shock between Inuyasha and the small family bot believing what Miroku said.

"If you think they can be treated like trash you can get off my ship right now." Inuyasha snarled grabbing the front of her dress and pulling her face close to his.

Kagome's entire field of vision was filled with a furios demon making her very afraid. But beneath that fear was a knowladge that Inuyasha was just as sickened by the acts against the Singer's as she was. And as she turned her head to gaze at the crew who were looking at her with hard expressions waiting for her response, she found out the crew felt the same way.

"No, Captain." Kagome answered looking back at him her eyes serious. "They are people, not tools."

"Even tools get treated better." Inuyasha said releasing her. "Get them off there! I want them rescued and getting immediat medical attention..."

"It's too late." Kagome's quiet voice interupted his yelled comands. But he heard her.

"What?" he asked turning to her.

"Those people," She turned to look at the family just in time for the little boy's knees to crumple and his mother to hold him tighter. "their already dead." Kagome closed her eyes sadly.

"They are not." Inuyasha said. "Have you ever seen dead people sing?" he pointed out obviously.

"No that's not what I meant." Kagome said looking back at the family. "A part of that song, is the Song of Life."

"How do you..." Inuyasha tried to inturupt but Kagome kept talking.

"That Song is keeping their souls tied to their bodies." Kagome started crying. "Their afraid of dieing and leaving their son to face those men by themselves. But he's ready to die too. Their deaths is the only thing we can do."

"Bullshit!" Inuyasha said. "And how would you know anyway?"

"I trust you, Captain." Kagome said changing the subject abruptly. "Don't let me down."

"Huh?" He said confused again. But Kagome had stepped up on the rail and grabbed of of the taught ropes to steady her balance. Before anyone could run forward to get her off she sang out a simple small song of recognition to tell them what she was.

She heard the crew gasp but didn't look at them. Her eyes were on the family who all looked at her. The mother and son had stopped singing but the father's lips were still moving.

The mother called back to her, but her call was more like a plea than anything.

(AN: Okay new rule. When text is like "_this." _It means whoever it is is singing in the ancient language unless otherwise specified because I don't feel like writing make believe lyrics. And if it doesn't ryme then too bad. )

Kagome called out again, "_Let me save you from this fate. Let me join your soul to the ocean to rome free once again." _She could practicly feel the stares of Inuyasha and the crew as she sang fluently in an ancient powerful language.

She got no response except for the father to stop Singing and for them to look at her with hope.

The crews were in range to shoot each other but were too busy watching the exchange to do anything about it.

Kagome's next song was as eary as it was beautiful and intricate. It sounded as if her voice came from the bottom of a deep well yet it rang with a power everyone could feel.

Tear's rolled silently down her cheek as she sang a song her mother had not wanted to teach her, one she hoped never to sing. The Song of Death.

It would be painful, not for the family but for her. They would not feel anything but she would feel the joined pain of their bodies and the ripping away of their souls.

When it happened the pain hit her with all the force of a brick wall makering her gasp in pain but it was gone just as quickly.

And the family fell as one onto the deck of the ship.

The other captain yelled in fury at the loss but when Kagome released the souls into the water one refused to go.

Kagome jumped off the railing breathing hard as the spirit traveled across the piece of water seperating the ships and stopping in front of her. It meterialized into the father but he looked healthy and full of life for all that he was insubstantial.

_"Alow me to join you." _it sang to her holding out his hand.

Kagome was breathing hard but smiled at the honor he was bestowing upon the captain.

_"It is your choice." _She replied taking his hand as they started weaving another complicated song.

Inuyasha and the crew watched amazed as Kagome's hair blew around her face in a nonexsistant wind and her eyes glowed with power. Inuyasha didn't think she knew how powerful and beautiful she looked.

The spirit of the man started glowing, pulsing with a bright inner light that made others look away as it grew until it finally blinded everyone with its intensity.

When Inuyasha could finally open his eyes he saw Kagome's hands holding empty air.

But before Inuyasha could run to her the ship buckled forcing everyone abored to their dark old stained wood started glowing beneath them and the sky darkened with heavy black clouds that came from seemingly nowhere. Kagome's body started writhing as she started glowing too and lightning split the sky.

No rain fell but blue streaks of light streamed across the sky erraticly and the waves started thrashing dangerously. Inuyasha watched as the force of the waves started breaking apart the other ship and waited for the same to happen to his.

It never did.

The wood of his precious ship started doing wierd things though. Every cut and bump started disapearing. Stains faded and Inuyasha felt the wood hardening and strengthening, the paint long faded by salty sea air became strong and vibrant again. The mast of the other ship disapeared beneath the waves but his seemed to float higher become sturdier.

The lightning struck one last powerful time and the clouds vanished.

Inuyasha and the rest of the crew stood up and found themselves alone in a calm ocean with what could only be described as a new ship beneath their feet.

They all turned to Kagome whose glow faded and her hair calmed down and she opened her eyes.

Before anyone could do anything she dropped to the deck in exhaustion.

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What do you think of that? Been planning this chapter since I started writing this fic. What do you think?


	11. Loringana

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

What no one wants to tell me how their holidays went? Come on what presents did ya'll get? Anyone? Hello! *Echo* Anyone there! *Echo* XP!

**Chapter 10: Loringana**

Kagome was placed in Inuyasha's bed until he could wake her up so he could get some answers. Everyone had tried unsuccessfully to wake her but she was just too tired.

So the crew manned their new ship and marveled at Kagome's power to restore their ship to new.

Inuyasha was stunned by how much had changed, but it was still obviously his ship. But what had she done to it?

_She's a singer._

That one thing kept running through his mind as he worked throughout the day. The one thing that had seperated her and Kikyo was no longer , the difference was that Kagome could obviously use her powers.

_But why had she hidden it?_

Then he thought of that family and he knew why. She had tried to escape that same fate. She couldn't know how he felt about Singers because he had never told her. Now her statement that she trusted him made sense.

But what the hell had she done to his ship?!

The steering was easier no matter how hard the waves became during the day, it seemed it ran by his thought rather than by his hands. What had she done?

He found out around midnight when he walked into his room to check up on her.

She was still sleeping but when he stopped by her bed she stirred.

"Captain?" He voice was slurred and slow and he realised she was still tired.

But he didn't much care. "What the hell did you do?" He asked angerily. No one messed with his ship without his permission.

"Nothing." She answered.

"What did you do to my ship?" He demanded again. Suddenly he felt as if some one was trying to talk to him but he didn't hear anyone.

"I did nothing." Her eyes opened most of the way and she tried to focus on him through fuzzy tired eyes.

"Then what happened?"

"It was him."

"Him?"

"The father from the family." She smiled weakly at him. "Congratulations captain you now own the only _loringana _in the world.

Inuyasha looked at her blankly. "Lori-whaty?"

_"Loringana. _It means living ship."

"Explain." Inuyasha said more calmly.

"He offered himself to place his soul inside your ship."

"What?!"

Kagome nodded. "Even in the days long ago when Singers weren't tortured and abused, there weren't many _loringana. _They were very rare and one has not been seen in over 300 years."

She looked at the ceiling. "When a Singer felt that a ship and their Captain were worthy, and once they died, another Singer could sing the song for them to place their soul in the wood of the ship. Your ship is alive right now, Inuyasha."

Inuyasha looked at the walls of his farmiliar room as if he had never seen them before and he once again got the feeling like some one he couldn't hear was trying to talk to him.

"I was merely the conduit for the magic he weaved. No matter, it was still...tiring." she blinked a few times as if to move the fuzz out of her vision. "Your ship is now his body and is as much alive as his other one was. It eats like any other living thing. Those barnacles that attach to the bottom of your ship are its meal."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. For that alone that lori...loren...thing was useful. Those barnacles could eat through the wood of a ship if left alone and were hell to get rid of.

"They were most prized for their ability to heal though."

"What?" was there to be no end to the shocks tonight?

"The wood is their body and if the ship sinks they die, but it's very hard to get a ship to do so. The second the wood it broken, it will start healing again. At the bottom the wound, for it is a wound, will heal more quickly but takes longer for it to be as strong as normal."

Damn if that was true Inuyasha was damned lucky to have one of these.

"It cannot control things like the cannon, or things that arn't apart of the ship, but the sails will never need replacing, the rope and wood will never wear down, and the ship will in fact grow stronger as it lives on." She looked back at him and smiled knowingly as Inuyasha was silenced with shock.

"What...What's his name?" He was finally able to studer out.

"_Hanyou no Siucay." _she answered promptly.

"No, I mean the ships name."

"_Hanyou no Siucay." _she repeated. "The ship still has the same name, just now has a new soul." Her eyes started to flutter close. "You are still it's captain and if you listen, he will speak to you."

"Listen?"

"Not with your ears, but your mind." she clarified her speak slurring again as she slipped back into sleep.

Inuyasha was reaching to wake her up when a small, very faint voice at the back of his mind spoke up.

**"Captain?"**

He froze at the unrecognizable voice. He knew that he had not heard that, he had felt that in his mind.

"What..."

**"Allow her to rest, Captain." **the voice was getting stronger and Inuyasha had a flash of the man from the other ship.

**"Aye, it is I. Call me Han, as my full name is so long."**

"Han?" Inuyasha looked at the floors and wall but they looked the same to him.

**"She needs rest." **he repeated bringing Inuyasha's attention back to Kagome. **"The service she performed for my family was enough to knock out a fully trained and well practiced Singer. But she also helped me into my new body. Allow her rest and she will explain all when she wakes up."**

Inuayasha nodded in agreement then turned his attention to Han. "Can everyone hear you?"

**"Just you and her."**

"Kagome?"

**"Aye."**

"Why did you do this for me?" Inuyasha asked confused. Kagome had said Singer's only did this for captains they found worthy, and Han had never known him.

**"Not for you. For her. Her soul is good and if she is with you, than you must be as well."**

"She isn't exactly with me by choice, and I didn't know she was a Singer until yesterday." Inuyasha clarified.

He had a feeling that the ship was laughing. **"It is too late to change now. Besides, your soul is good as well. I can feel it as surely as I feel my own."**

Inuyasha kept looking around feeling it was rude to speak to someone without looking at their face.

**"I have no face you would recognize anymore." **The ship answered his thoughts. **"Just speak and I will listen. Now if you will excuse me, I am still living and the magic took its toll on me as well. I am not as yet fully rested."**

Then the presence was gone and Inuyasha knew he was alone.

He looked at Kagome again and thought of the gift she had given him, not only of the lori-thingy, but of showing him her true nature. He was now one of the few captains to have a Singer, and the only pirate captain to have one.

"Damned lucky." He said before walking out to leave her to her sleep.

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So what do you think. I like it!XD. BTW, who knows some good Inuyasha fics, I am in the mood to read a really good one.


	12. Confessions

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Why does only like 2 people review my story. Must I beg for your reviews, is that what you want? For me to beg? Cause I'll do it...No I wont just review plz!

**Chapter 11: Confessions**

Inuyasha had to wait a day and a half more before Kagome finally rose from her sleep. In that time he got to know his ship. Han was a sturdy, resourcful, sarcastic person. He enjoyed making biting remarks to things people said making Inuyasha struggle not to laugh. After all the rest of the crew couldn't hear him and how odd would it be if their fierce mighty captain started chuckling for no apparent reason?

But the ship was a thousand times better now, the waves seemed to move out of it's way like a hot knife through butter and the crew just assumed that it was Kagome's doing not Han's. Inuyasha didn't bother to correct them.

She had stayed in Inuyasha's bed the entire time. Mostly because he didn't think it right to move her after what she did for him, but also because she looked like she almost belonged there.

He knew she got up to do her business every now and then, but she was always sleeping when he checked on her. Until lights out one night.

"Kagome, your up." Kagome was sitting up in bed smiling at him.

"Sore, but no longer tired." she agreed.

"Sore?"

"It takes alot out of me." She said falling back on the bed.

Inuyasha walked over and fell beside her on the bed. She turned to face him and smiled. "Singing is still work, and it takes the energy out of you just like work."

"Well where exactly are you sore?" He asked his eyes playful and ungaurded for once.

"Where am I not sore?" Kagome asked back.

"Are you sore here?" He asked pointing to her wrist.

Kagome nodded and he grabbed it and kissed it gently. Kagome smiled. "It hurts here, too." She pointed to her cheek. Inuyasha leaned forward and kissed it dutifully.

"Here." She pointed to her forhead. He kissed her there.

"Here." He voice was quiet as she pointed to her lips. Inuyasha kissed them to. Just as softly, just as sweetly as he kissed the other spots. The only thing toughing were their lips until Inuyasha grabbed her hand and held it in his own.

"Better?" He asked pulling away.

Kagome smiled softly, "Maybe a little more."

Inuyasha smiled at her greed but kissed her again. This time her put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. There was nothing intense in the kiss, it was quiet, and cautious. Niether knew what to expect from the other. Kagome had never kissed a man besides her grandfather and Souta and it had been so long since Inuyasha had kissed anyone.

Since Kikyo.

He pulled back and carressed her cheek.

They lay there for a while, Inuyasha's arm making a pillow for her head as his other hand memorized her face.

"I was in love once before." He confessed out of nowhere. He suddenly had an urge to tell her everything.

"Oh?" Kagome asked no suspicion or anger in her gaze. Only curiosity and affection.

"Her name was Kikyo. She was a Singer too." Inuyasha didn't look away from her as he spoke. "Unlike you, though, she didn't know how to use her powers. Her family was rich and powerful and had given up their powers to become so."

"How sad." Kagome said. "A Singer who doesn't Sing is usually miserable. We're made to Sing, it's what we love to do."

"She always had a haunted look in her eyes. As if she was missing something." Inuyasha agreed. He didn't say that that was what had started his attraction for her. He had wanted to cure her of that look. "She never noticed me in the beginning. I loved her silently, but she ignored me mostly. This was before I became a pirate. I am the son of a powerful noble, you know."

Kagome smiled. "I don't believe it. The terrifying pirate captain attending state dinners?"

Inuyasha mock shivered. "Now those are terrifying. But one day I over heard a conversation I shouldn't have."

"Eavesdropping?"

"I couldn't help it. They were yelling and I was right next door and with my powerful ears..." He trailed off.

Kagome laughed. "Okay, go on."

"Anyway, I found out the truth about her family. Funny enough I actually loved her more for it. When she found out that I found out she was angry at first, but she started to get toknow me and I thought she loved me because I knew what she was and didn't care." His eyes grew sad as he remembered. "Another overheard conversation gave me the truth. She was only getting close to me on her fathers orders. To shut me up."

Kagome wanted desperately to comfort him, but knew she couldn't. So she listened without comment.

"After I calmed down a bit I thought maybe it wasn't all fake. Maybe she had grown to love me and her fathers orders were ust the catalyst. But when I asked her about it, she told me the truth. She didn't feel anything at all for me. She wished that I would leave and never come back and spare her the trouble of marrieing me when she didn't want to."

"Oh, Inuyasha." Kagome said softly placing her hand on his cheek.

"So I did as she asked. I left. With no where to go, I started my own home. A place where Singers could be safe. But your people are so reclusive I couldn't find anyone to offer the safe haven to, so I welcomed everyone."

Kagome smiled sadly. "We're not a reclusive people, Inuyasha." She admited. "There are just so few of us left. Singers are on the edge of exstinction. That's why you haven't found any. That family of Han's were the first of my kind I've ever seen besides my family."

Inuyasha looked at her. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. Your even trying to help. That's more than anyone and it means more than you know."

Inuyasha layed his head on her chest like a child and listen to her hearbeat. His own heart felt lighter, more free now that he had told his story to someone.

Finally, a few hours later, Kagome spoke. "You were wrong."

"About?" Inuyasha asked sitting up and looked down at her.

"The Shikon no Tama. You were wrong. The story you told, was wrong."

"Oh?" Inuyasha asked. He knew he was about to get the information he wanted from her, knew he was about to find out what he wanted and it was much more than he hoped for.

"Your tale was the prettiest version of the story and so far off it's laughable how false it is." Kagome stroked his hair fondly.

Inuyasha sat back and listened to her. "You did get Modoriko's part right. She was a powerful Singer, I don't know if she was the most pwerful, but she was strong. The man in your story, the one you said she loved? They did not. He was evil, true, fould twisted and enjoyed torturing and causing pain to everyone he met. This was back a long time ago. Before history was being recorded except in tales. Modoriko was far from the saintly image people paint her today, she ruled over the nation of Singers for my people were many then."

"The capitol city was vast and large and she mostly ignored the plight of the humans and demons that the man and his army of like minded people inflicted on them. So long as he let the Singers alone, she let him alone."

"Until one day he started capturing and torturing Singers as well." Kagome laughed humorlessly. "It's funny. The only unpredigous one in this story is the man. He killed and tortured undiscrimanintly. Anyway, when he did start in on Singers, Modoriko started to fight back."

"There was a long and bloody war. Many died, many more were crippled and wounded. The Singers could influence the world with their voice, but the demons were strong, and the humans posessed much in the way of knowladge and tactics. The final battle of the war took place in a field now called the Dead Plain. Do you know of it?"

Inuyasha shook his head darkly. "It is a terrable place. You can almost feel the evil and death in the air." Inuyasha had walked there once and felt no desire to do so again.

"That feeling is from all the blood that was shed and soaked into the earth. The battle lasted for many weeks. Many died, not many were left alive. Finally it came down to an all-or-nothing strike against each other. Modoriko led her people against the demons in a terrible night of slaughter."

Kagome's voice mesmerized him and he could practicly smell the blood, hear the tortured screams of the dieing and the smell of the already dead. Maybe it was the magic in her soul that painted the picture of a dark sky and bloodred grass filled with dead worriers, both men and wemon, young and old. He could hear their screams, hear the clash of weapon on armor and weapon.

When the darkness of dawn came and rain started pouring down only two were left alive on the battle field. Modoriko, and the man fighting each other. Both were tired and wounded but they kept fighting."

Kagome looked at him. "Finally when Modoriko knew she wouldn't last much longer she cast a final spell. A tiny, almost unseen drop of blood came from every body that lay dead and formed into a small glowing sphere. With the last of her powers she killed both herself and the man, trapping their souls inside the orb. The blood crystalized and fromed the Shikon no Tama."

"It was found by a small girl child. She came looking for her parents and heard Modoriko's voice calling her from inside the jewel. Modoriko begged the child to hide the jewel because all her power and goodness, and all the mans evil was still trapped inside. The jewel had to be kept from others hands. So the girl carried it in a box but when she grew old she could no longer keep it and had no one she could trust it to. So she hid it. No one knows where. For neither the jewel nor her body was discovered. The only clue she left behind was a riddle to be passed down through her children."

Inuyasha was confused. "Wait, if that's the story why is it called the Jewel of the Sea?"

"It's not." Kagome answered. "I'm not sure when someone mistranslated the words but that's not what they mean."

"Then what do they mean?"

"They had no literal translation and the words are to powerful to be discribed properly but...Shikon which is literally good in every sence of the word. Pure, white, light, nice, all of those words. It is exactly that, pure pureity. Tama is it's oposite. It is pure evil. Darkness, black, night, death, all of them. Even the word no has no translation though it is used often. So the jewel is literally the battle of good and evil. The winner is dependent on who posseses the jewel. Don't get me wrong, it can still control the ocean or anything else thanks to Modoriko's power, but it's not the Jewel of the Sea it's reputated to be."

"How do you know this?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome smiled at him sadly. "The girl child's children were Singers that she called Guardians. Those who guarded the secret of the jewel. My family is the direct desendents of her."

Inuyasha was about the secret of the jewel but her last statement stopped him. "Desen...Your a Guardian?"

Kagome nodded and waited for him to make the connection and knew just when he did. "You said she left behind a riddle?"

Kagome nodded again. "To her Guardians." Another nod. "And your a Guardian." One more. "You know the riddle?!"

"Yes." Kagome admited. "But for all that I know it, I know not what it means."

"Tell me it. Please." Inuyasha asked.

"Of course." Kagome agreed. "But you will be jsut as confused. It is only a riddle in the old language in ours it is jibberish."

"I don't care. Tell me. We'll work it out together." Inuyasha promised grabbing her hand.

Kagome laughed shortly. "I'll need paper and a quill."

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Now all I have to do is think of a riddle....wow that will be hard. And I know I said I wouldn't but...PLZ!!!! Leave me reviews! *Begs*


	13. The Riddle

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Yay I got more than one review. But i just realized that I'm updating in one day intervals. That doesn't give you guys much reviewing time, so just do what you want. Oh my Christmas sucked. :). My stupid little cousin Jack broke not only my favorite necklace but my mp3. He sucks. I didn't get many good presents from my dad's family. My grampa even got me make-up. I hate make up! Shows how well they know me. My mom's side got me some goodstuf though. My aunt got me lots of PJ's and I LOVE Pj's.:D! My mom got me stuff for my psp and the only thing my dad gave me was a new mp3 though new is hardly the word. He found it and just gave it to me. I feel loved. DX

**Chapter 12: The Riddle**

"Okay, ready." Miroku said holding the quill above the paper. Inuyasha had told him everything and they were just waiting for her.

"It doesn't make any sence." Kagome warned again.

"I know, but it's a lead. Tell us." Inuyasha asked.

Kagome sighed. "All right. The first line is the easiest and only one that makes sence. _Deno carda Shikon no Tama._ Which means the Jewel of good and evil basicly."

Miroku wrote it down. "Next line."

"Which lies in every Gaurdians heart." The boys looked at her, then her chest.

"It's not there." Kagome said. "There is more than one Guardian."

Miroku shrugged and wrote it down.

"Can be found in the dream." Kagome supplied without prompting.

"The dream?" Inuyasha asked.

"I told you." Kagome said deffensivly.

Miroku wrote it down.

"In the king's heart,  
through heavan's gate,  
Past the deciete,  
Unlocked by the secret,  
and held by love freely sacrificed.  
reached only by livingwood  
made only through pure giving."

Miroku wrote it down and looked at it.

Inuyasha did too. "You sure this is write?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I told you. Jibberish."

"I'm stumped." Miroku admited turning the paper sideways and squinting at it.

"It makes no sence!"

"Just as I said."

"You sure you translated it right?" Inuaysha asked.

Kagome opened her mouth to say she did thank you very much, when a thought accured to her.

"Kagome?"

"The translation!" Kagome said. "That's what's wrong. Some of these words mean different things. Let me see." she grabbed the paper. "The dream...the dream....the Dream...That's it. The ancient city Modoriko was called Utopia. It means paradise and paradise is the same word as dream."

"So the dream is the city." Miroku caught on.

"Yes." Miroku took the paper and made a side note that dream was a city.

"The king's heart. King means ruler....uh....crown..." Miroku and Inuyasha thought while Kagome through out random words.

"Center." Inuyasha said at last.

"What?" Kagome asked.

"The Kings heart. King for kingdom and heart, the capitol city."

"The capitol city was Utopia." Kagome said but then she understood. "The center of Utopia! The king's palace. Modoriko's palace." Miroku smiled and wrote it down.

"Okay now...past the deciet?"

"Trap." Kagome said immediatly having already unravled that one. "Like a booby trap. A deciet."

"Unlocked by the secret?"

"Kagome you mentioned a secret. What is it?" Inuyasha asked.

"Just as much jibberish as the riddle." but Kagome had learned from the riddle that it couldn't be purely jibberish. "It goes back to the second line. Which lies in every Guardians heart. It's uh..." Kagome had to think, "The Guardian holds the key unlocked by love."

Inuyasha stared at her. "The key is unlocked? That makes no sense."

"No it does." Miroku said. "This line here, unlocked by the secret. We can get past the booby trap with the key which is unlocked by the Guardians love."

"Yes that makes total sense." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"How about, held by love freely sacrificed?"

"Clueless." Inuyasha said.

"Why would you sacrifice love? How can sacrifice love?" Miroku asked.

Kagome looked at the riddle. "That's it!"

"What?" Miroku asked.

"I mixed up these words." Kagome said pointing to sacrificed and given two lines down. "Their the same word in the ancient language but I mixed them up. Held by love freely given, made only through pure sacrifice."

"Kagome you seem to be missing a line. Reached only by livingwood?"

"No. Not living wood. Living ship." Kagome corrected and his brightened. "Lori-thingy."

Kagome laughed. "Loringana. Held by love freely given, reached only by the living ship, made only through pure sacrifice."

"I'm even more confused."

"Han is a living ship made by pure sacrifice. He sacrificed letting his soul travel with his family to be your ship." Kagome smiled at Inuyasha.

"Anyone want to clue me in?" Miroku asked.

"That means Han can find it!" Inuyasha said excited.

"Hello?" Miroku continued.

"Han!" Kagome called to the ship.

**"I heard my lady. And I shall be happy to transport you and the monkey to the Dream."**

Inuaysha growled. "For the last time, I am not a monkey!"

**"You jump around the ship and swing from it's ropes. Your a monkey."**

"Kagome I am going to kill my own ship." Inuyasha threatened.

**"Would you feel better if I called you puppy?" **

Inuyasha growled and stared at the wood of the ship.

"Calm down Koinu." Kagome said gently and Inuyasha had the feeling the ship was laughing at him.

"Koinu better be an endearment." Inuyasha threatened her.

"It is...in a way." Kagome hedged.

"**Yeah. It means puppy."**

"Kagome!"

She laughed.

"Great." Miroku said throwing down his quill. "My Captain and Kagome have lost it." (AN: Imagine what he's hearing, huh?)

Kagome giggled and Inuyasha told Miroku what han was so he wouldn't think he was crazy.

"That explains...alot." Miroku admited.

"So where do we start looking?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't know." Kagome said biting her lip. "The capital city has been lost since the Great Battle."

"Well obviously someone found it." Inuyasha pointed out.

"I know, but....I don't know where to look."

Miroku looked thoughtful. "Kagome where was the Great Battle fought?"

"The Dead plain. Why?"

"I think we'll find our answer there."

"Oh no!" Inuyasha protested Imediatly. "I am not going to the Dead Plain! We are going to that little island off of Quiten."

"Inuyasha what is so important about that island anyway?" Kagome asked.

"The women who first told me of the Shikon no Tama lives there."

"She's not expecting us." Miroku said. "I don't see why we can't go to the Dead Plain and find out what we can."

"I do. The Dead Plain has no ports. It's inland. We're on a ship."

"And the ship can sail without us." Miroku said. "We'll find out what we will and Kagome can call to Han when we're ready to come back."

_"_**Ooh I get to wait for the puppy, how exciting."**

Inuyasha growled at the ship then turned to his first mate. He remembered the Dead Plain only too clearly and he was adment about going back.

"No." He repeated. "We are not going to the Dead Plain, and that's FINAL!"

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Well what does anyone think?


	14. The Dead Plains

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Hey guys, me agian! who would have thought? Well for Kandygurl4, she asked to be my beta! My first thought was sure she can...what the hell's a beta? so I looked at my login thingy and found, sure enough, beta reader. So I checked it out and my next thought was, wow does my spelling suck that bad? So I laughed at myself and thought, well I would love for her to be my beta! No one has ever offered that before and it sounds cool! So the answer is yes!...How do you become my beta?

**Chapter 13: The Dead Plains**

"I can't believe I'm going to the Dead Plain." Inuyasha grumbled miserably.

"Calm down, Inuyasha." Kagome smiled at him.

They had left the ship scant hours ago and were riding in a wagon Inuyasha purchased heading through the town to the horrid plain. They had all dressed in normal clothes as their pirate wear was a little too much for normal people. Kagome was wearing the first dress she had ever worn that she hadn't made. Inuyasha looked particularly handsome in gentleman's clothes with his ears hidden by a nice hat. Kagome was wondering where he had that thing stored but it made him look very nice and in it she could easily picture him as a rich lord.

Miroku, Shippo, Sango, and Rikos had come along as well. Those four were sitting in the back and had been let in on the whole secret. Sango, too, was in a dress something Kagome was trying hard not to laugh at. That was not helped by the fact that Sango kept twitching and moving the skirts and complaining.

"Sango you look beautiful." Mirkou said draping his arm across her at one piont. Ssango glared at him suspiciously but stopped fidgiting.

Shippo and Rikos were playing stones comlpetely oblivious to everyone.

Inuyasha had not wanted to go and had fought against it but as the ship was on Kagome's side and he couldn't steer it where it didn't want to go, he lost rather quickly.

"Fiercest pirate captain in all the seas and I get beaten by a girl and my own ship." he grumbled.

Kagome leaned over and kissed his cheek. "You'll be fine." she promised.

Inuyasha took a moment to admire her in the light pink, gauzy dress he had given to her. She looked alot better in it than he had pictured in fact.

But then he went back to griping. "Bull shit. You've never been there. That place is warped and twisted."

"Why have you gone there before anyway, Inuyasha?" Sango asked. All of them now knew the captian's name and he was embaressed to admit they were becoming closer friends to him for it.

"I don't want to talk about it." He said.

"Come on Inuyasha?" Kagome asked.

"If you must know, it was purely accident. I was running and found myself there." He looked off into space as if remembering. "There's no gradual fading of the forest to the Plains. The trees and grass just stop and then there is nothing from then on until the Plains end at the other side." Inuyasha shuddered against his will. "It's a dark evil place. The sun doesn't really shine there and nothing grows. Nothing lives."

"It's because of the battle." Kagome explained sadly. "So much blood was spilled into the earth, so much evil was performed there, so much death that nothing will live there anymore. Even the foulest things on earth will not go there. Singers in particular. We're the only ones who still know what happened there, and we avoid the place. I'll probably be the first Singer there since the battle itself."

After that no one talked again until they were beyond the city limits and riding along the forest trail.

Kagome threw off her hat and let her hair fly in the wind.

"Enjoying yourslef?" Inuyasha asked as she smiled.

"I love the ship and I love the ocean but I also love traveling." she asnwered happily.

"Then stick with me, you'll get everything you love." He promised noticing that his words rang with double meaning without him meaning to.

But Kagome smiled at him without picking it up. "Maybe I will."

"Hey Gome!" Rikos said. "Aint your mom gonna be looking for ya?"

"Huh," Kagome turned to him. "I haven't thought about that. Maybe I should go home for a little while. Just to prove I'm alright."

"We'll see to it soon." Inuyasha promised having an insaneurge to wipe that frown off her face. "Why with Han looking brand new, she wont even recognize the ship."

Just like he wanted she smiled at him. "That sounds great."

"So how soon will we get to the Plains." Sango asked sutiating her skirt.

"It's a little way off." Inuyasha said. "We just left the closest city to it and that's still maybe a day's travel away."

"On cart." Miroku complained.

"Do you have a better idea?" Inuyasha growled.

"No, no I do not." Miroku answered with dignity.

"I might." Kagome offered.

"You are not Singing yourself into exaustion." Inuyasha said before she could say anything. "We can stand waiting. In fact I'd rather not get there at all."

Kagome laughed. "Not all Singing knocks me out you know. Just really hard Songs, or Singing for hours on end."

Inuyasha mocked her silently but Miroku said, "So what's your idea?"

"Well this cart is made of wood. Just take off the horse and I can Sing our way there."

"Yeah. Great idea." Inuyasha said sarcasticly. "But hey genious, what do we do with the horse?"

"I'll tell him to go home." Kagome said.

Before he could stop her she reached out her mind to the horses and sang to him gently.

Without prompting he stopped and Kagome hopped out to unhitch him.

"Show off." Inuyasha complained as the horse obiediantly turned and walked back toward town.

"Shall we?" Kagome asked jumping into the back of the wagon. "Uh, Inuyasha you might want to sit back here where it's safer." Inuyasha complained but did as he was told and sat next to Kagome.

"Hold on tight." She said before whispering to the wood of the cart. Slowly the wheels started turning and then the wagon was inching foward.

"Wow, this is exciting." Inuyasha said. "You know maybe it's not too late to call the horse back."

But Kagome split through an octave and the wheels shot foward making all their hair fly behind them.

"What the....!"

"Wooohooo!" Sango said as the trees passsed them in a blur.

"How the hell can you steer this thang, girl?" Rikos asked holding onto the side for dear life.

But Kagome was still singing and couldn't answer.

Inuyasha turned around and saw a storm of dust and leaves in their wake and Miroku was squinting into the wind.

They rode in their cart for a little over an hour and by the time they were done almost everyone was singing, messily, the lyrics with Kagome. Her tongue and lips were moving so fast it was amazing any sound came out at all. And once she slowed to a stop her voice was still as clear and perfect as when she started. She was sweating, and breathing hard, but her voice was still sweet as a bell.

"I can Sing no farther." Kagome said once they stopped. "Nature stops just ahead, so I can sing nothing more."

Inuyasha nodded in understanding and jumped out. It was only mid-afternoon and he was back at the place he had never wanted to be.

"That was fun, Kagome!" Sango said happily before she tore off her dress revealing her normal clothes underneath.

"No wonder the dress was uncomfortable." Kagome laughed at her as she jumped down.

Sango pretended to ignore her and walked ahead. Kagome and Inuyasha led the way through the trees but suddenly they didn't need to.

Kagome gasped as the sight and feeling of death hit her. The trees and grass literally did stop. as if someone had drawn a perfectly strait line and declared not a single blade of grass was to cross it. The earth was deathly gray-ish black. Something sickly and disgusting. The sun, which had been shining brightly before, was suddenly hidden by a wall of clouds.

"Those are always there." Inuyasha said looking up at them "Why?" he asked.

Everyone felt the unnaturalness of the place, but none so much as Kagome. Her soul was so used to the feeling of life and vibrance around her. Even when something died something else living replaced it to eat away at it's body. But this...

Nothing but nothing lived there. The air was stale and putrid, the sky was dark and the earth around unhealthy.

"Come one Miroku." Inuyasha said. "What are we supposed to be looking for?"

"I don't know." he confessed. "There has to be some sort of clue here."

Unwillingly they started walking into the Plains trying hard to ignore the feeling of wrongess.

All but one.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked turning around when he noticed her not there.

She was standing right where the grass ending like a women standing at the edge of a cliff. Her face was full of fright and repulsion.

"Inuyasha I can't go in there." she said starting to shake.

"Sure you can. I know it's hard, but you can do it." Inuyasha encouraged walking back to her.

She shook her head looking around. "No...No I...I can't go in there." she started breathing heavily.

"Kagome calm down. It'll be alright." Inuyasha said. "We'll get in, find what we will, and get out. Easy."

"No Inuyasha really...I...I...I can't do that." she cluched at her heart as if to make sure it was still there and working. Kagome just shook her head.

Inuyasha walked over into the grassy zone again and held her in his arms. "Alright. If you don't want to go, you can stay here. We'll go and come back for you."

"Uh...Inuyasha?" Miroku said trying not to look as surprised as everyone else at the sight of him holding Kagome. "I hate to say this, but we're looking for an ancient Singers secret. We'll probably need a Singer."

"Miroku you can't force her down there." Inuyasha said as Kagome looked at the place terrified.

The men were glaring at each other when Kagome swollowed and said. "No I'm....I'm fine. I'll....I'll...go."

Inuyasha looked down at her surprised. "You sure? No one will make you go." but he was delighted to hear her answer.

Kagome nodded and let go of him. Except her hand. She kept her hand in his.

She took a deep breath and stared strait ahead, trying not to look at the wasteland beneath her feet, and took her first step.

She flinched and gasped as the pain and screams of centuries past hit her like a brick.

Then she did something she had never done before.

She cut herself off entirely from the world around her. Brought up as many mental barriers as possible and blocked out the resounding sense of evil from herself.

Suddenly it was alot easier walking.

"Kagome, you okay?" Inuyasha asked as they reached their friends.

Kagome nodded but increased the pressure of her hand in his. "Yes, but....just don't let me go."

Inuyasha nodded and pulled her close.

"Ready?" Sango asked her eyes shifting nervously. "I want to get out of this hell as quick as possible."

Kagome nodded and they started walking forward, into a place no one had stepped foot in centuries.

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Well what do you think about that?


	15. Shikon no Tama

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

:Ozzzzz...I'm sleepy...

**Chapter 14: Shikon no Tama**

Inuyasha held her hand tightly, securley, and it was the only thing keeping her from turning and running back to the forest where the strange and nasty echoes of the past would stop following her.

Sango jumped again and stared into the distance.

"Sango will you stop that!" Inuyasha said. "Every time you jump, Kagome jumps too!"

"Sorry." she said her voice preoccupied. "But I would swear I keep seeing something."

"Like what?" Rikos asked with Shippo on his shoulder. Shippo was the only surpassed by Kagome in fear of the place. Maybe it was because he was a child and still innocent.

"I dont know." she admited still looking around. "Just...something."

"Okay, can we stop the creepy talk? Your scaring Kagome." Inuyasha said.

And indeed Kagome's eyes were darting around looking for what Sango saw.

"Aw Inuyasha are you worried about her?" Miroku asked a particular gleam in his eye.

Sango reached over and punched him upside the head.

"Hey what did I do?"

Sango rolled her eyes and Shippo said, "Idiot."

"Come on. This place is giving me the creeps." Rikos said moving their party forward again.

"Sango will you quite jumping!" Inuyasha demanded when she did it again a little while later.

"Look!" She pointed ahead of them.

"Sango there is nothing out here but us!"

"No look! There's something green over there!"

"What?" Inuyasha looked ahead and saw a tiny dot of green.

Kagome looked too and gasped. "_Meca coneo!" _she said in surprise before she let go of his hand and ran forward.

"Woh, what?" they took off after her but she was already kneeling next to the tiny green thing when they caught up.

"Look! Look! It's a flower!" she said happily stroking it's petals.

"Congratulations." Inuyasha said crossing his arms and looking at it.

"It's so pretty." Sango said bending down and looking at it.

It was pretty. It couldn't have stood more than a foot off the ground and it was just a single flower, with two leaves on a tiny stem sticking out of the tiniest patch of clean earth. The flower hadn't bloomed yet but it was large and the colors of the outside petals were hot magenta.

"What's _meca coneo_, mean?" Rikos asked.

"It's the ancient equivalent of 'oh my gosh'." Kagome said not taking her eyes away from the flower.

"What's it doing here?" Sango asked.

"It's a messenger." Kagome said here eyes starting to glow as they did when she Sang.

"A messenger of what?" Miroku asked.

"_Shikon."_ she whispered.

"Good?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome leaned forward and kissed the flower and suddenly, it bloomed. There had to have been hundreds of tiny many shaded petals on it. From light airy pink in the middle to the hot magenta on the outside. The tiny center was a healthy brown and the fragrence it let off was so sweet and light.

Kagome whispered to it in the ancient language, a simple greeting.

"Woh!" Sango said as the ground started to shake.

"What the..." Inuyasha cried out as the ground in front of him exploded. A huge skeleton crawled out of the dirt.

Shippo and Rikos screamed as they saw it. It's armor still clung to it's bones and there was still some meat and sinew there. It grinned at them evily and lifted a large old battle ax from it's belt. It howled to the sky for it's head was that of a giant wolf and he had to be half a man height taller than Inuyasha.

Kagome had not taken her eyes off the flower but she said in a strangley distant voice. "They, too, are messengers."

"They?!" Sango asked worried.

"They are messengers of _Tama." _She didn't look scared or worried. In fact she looked oddly peaceful.

The earth exploded again and again as more skeletons rose from their ancient grave. Some were humans, many more were demons, all were ferocious and nasty to look at.

"What the hell!" Inuyasha screamed slicing the one in front of him in half.

"They are his worriers from ages past." Kagome said.

"What do you mean, _his _worriers?" Miroku asked throwing a sacred sutra at one. It immediatly burst into bright blue flames.

"He has kept their souls here, waiting for us." she seemed posatively nonpulsed by that fact.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha yelled out continuing to slice them into pieces.

He jumped back and stared at them. "Hah, their not so hard to..." But before he could finish the skeltons started putting themselves back together, and even more rose out of the ground.

"Kagome, let's get out of here!" Sango grabbed her arm and tried to pull her away but she wouldn't budge. "Kagome, come on!"

But she was still staring at the flower as if was telling her something of vital importance.

"Kaogme!" Rikos yelled trying to fight with his trydent.

Inuyasha took them all down one by one saying, "There....has...GOT....to be....a way....to...kill....these....things!"

"There's a whole army." Sango said worried. "We can't beat them all." And they were indeed surrounded by the dead puppets.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled at her. "Can we go now!?"

"They've been here so long." She said finally looking away from the flower. "I think it's time they were set free."

"What..." Then lightning clashed across the sky and a single rain drop landed on her cheek, like a tear.

_"Set them free." _She said in the language.

Then the rain started pouring down and where it hit the skeleton army they had bursts of white leave their bodies.

"Hey those are..." Rikos said recognizing them from when Kagome had set the families souls free.

One of the skeletons let out a moan that sounded of dispair before it's corpse collapsed and the bones melted into dust. Slowly it's brothers followed it each one letting out a mournful cry before dropping and melting away.

"Their souls are free." Kagome smiled. "The evil is gone, can't you feel it?"

And indeed the feeling of evil had vanished, or rather, was shrinking as the skeletons melted. The earth below them changed to a healthy black and the clouds started to thin and disperse.

Finally the army was gone, their bodies returned to the earth, and the sky shined clear and blue there for the first time in centuries.

"Shikon no Tama," Kagome said picking the flower, "the battle of good and evil. And here, good has won." the stem and flower withered and they too returned to the earth.

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I am going to start demanding reviews if you don't write them willingly. *Get's stern look on face* I'll do it too.


	16. Surprise

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Yay I got lots of good reviews, and one that called my story ridiculous, not sure about that one, but anyway, here's the new chapter. And just so you know, I'm in kind of a bad mood, might reflect a little in here. :)

**Chapter 15: Surprise**

Kagome was drawing on a piece of parchment with Inuyasha pacing behind her trying not to look over her shoulder. He had already got into trouble for that. The flower had told her the precise location of Utopia, and she had been trying to put it down on paper, but she wasn't a master map maker the best she could do was draw a rough sketch. Inuyasha had offered her his map but she hadn't recognized a single land mark on it. Not surprising since the ones she had seen were probably not there anymore.

"Okay, here you go." She said handing it to him.

He took it was a thanks and looked it over. The land masses were shaped wrong, and he didn't recognize most of it, but she had done her best.

"I translated as best I could but..."

"No it's fine." He said tucking it into his shirt pocket making a mental note to have Miroku check it out later. "You did what you could."

"I can see it so clearly in my head, I just can't put it down." she tried to explain.

"It's alright." he sounded very understanding. "We only wanted the map as a just-in-case. You can do most of the leading. Come on." he took her hand and led them back to the room were Miroku had taken out the largest map he could find and spread it over the table.

The map was easily two man hieghts tall and just as wide and needed four tables pushed together to display it fully. Miroku was putting stones at the corners to wiegh it down when they came in.

"Wow, where did you get that thing?" Kagome asked.

"Found it." Inuyasha said. She knew that meant he got it off a ship he had taken down.

He took out the map and handed it over. "That's what she came up with."

Miroku and Kagome walked over to the bottom edge of the map and started comparing land shapes.

"This one?" Miroku pointed.

"No, it's shaped more like a half circle." Kagome looked it over then climbed on top of the map and started walking across it. Miroku knew if he followed her example Inuyasha would yell at him, so he watched from the side-lines.

Finally she sighed in frustration.

"Can't find it?" Inuyasha asked.

Kagome's eyebrows furrowed. "This is the closest one I can find and it has this large chunk taken out of it."

Miroku looked at the spot she was pointing. "That's the Mona Callaya. Huge cliff face shaped like a fourth of a circle. Almost like a piece of it was taken off."

"Then that's it." Inuaysha said. "We go there."

Kagome shook her head. "But it's still missing the island that's right off it's coast."

"Kagome maybe the island vanished beneath the waves." Miroku suggested.

Kagome looked at him funny. "Then that would be bad because it's the island we need. That's where Utopia is."

"I have a question." Inuyasha said. "This place, no one has been to it or even seen it since the Great Battle, right?"

"Yes." Kagome said not looking away from the map.

"So why would it be on a modern day map?" he seemed genuinely confused.

Miroku and Kagome both looked at him quickly. "What?" He said.

"That's it!" Kagome ran over to him grabbed his face and kissed him quickly. "Inuyasha your a genius!"

"Um...okay." she walked over and grabbed the smaller map and looked it over. "Then if Mona Callaya is here, then the island is right here!" Miroku circled the area and smiled.

"Great! Then we have our heading!"

"Han, can you take us that direction?" Kagome asked excited.

**"Be glad to, my lady. We just have one problem."**

"Oh, and what's that?" Inuyasha asked.

A huge cannon blast rocked the ship.

**"There's a ship coming up behind us."**

"You could have told us that sooner!" Inuyasha yelled as all three ran outside and looked behind them.

"Woh." Miroku said.

"What?" Inuyasha asked.

"Their flag." he pointed and Kagome gasped.

"That's the Shikon no Tama." and there was indeed a large purple sphere shining against a black surface on thier flag.

"How do they know of it?" Inuyasha asked confused as the crew started getting ready for battle.

"What's that?" Kagome pointed to someone one the bow(that is the front right?) of the ship.

Inuyasha squinted and what he saw made his heart stop.

Kikyo, his Kikyo, had been tied up and was being held by a tall man with long black hair and a wicked smiled.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha gasped.

"Kikyo?" Kagome and Miroku asked at the same time.

When the man saw Inuyasha had seen him, he held up his cannons to stop firing and walked around to the port side with Kikyo still in front of him.

"Hold your fire!" Inuyasha yelled to his crew. "No one moves until I order it!"

The ships drew up side to side with each other and the man smiled at Inuyasha who had run over to the starboard side.

"Good evening, Captain Silver." He said as if they had met over friendly drinks. "My name Captain Naraku."

"Inuyasha I'm sorry!" Kikyo burst out struggling against her bonds. "I didn't mean to say anything! I tried not to but he..."

"Shut up wench!" Naraku said tugging at her ropes, silencing her.

Inuyasha growled and dug his nails into the railing causing Han to grumble about the discomfort.

"Let her go!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Gladly." Naraku smiled. "I shall handover Kikyo exactly as she is, is return for that girl next to you. A Singer for a Singer. That's fair isn't it?"

"You aren't going to touch Kagome." Inuyasha growled as Kikyo and Kagome looked at each other for the first time. "Now hand over Kikyo before I have to sharpen my claws on you!"

Naraku shook his head sadly. "Now, now Silver. We can discuss this like reasonable men, can't we?" He picked Kikyo up and held her over the water.

"Naraku!" Kagome screamed at him.

Neither Kikyo nor Kagome had taken their eyes off each other, they were amazed that they looked so much alike and only Kagome knew why.

"Yes?" He said smiling at her.

"Drop her!" Kagome said.

"What!" Inuyasha screamed.

Naraku seemed to think she was bluffing. "Only if you want me to."

"Do it." Kagome said her face sever.

"What are you doing!" Kikyo screeched.

"You really think I should?"

"No!" Inuyasha and Kikyo screamed.

"Yes." Kagome said calmly.

"What is wrong with you?" Inuyasha asked

"Alright." Naraku said and released her.

Kikyo screamed as she hit the water with a splash.

"NO!" Inuyasha ran to the edge but Kagome beat him to it.

She jumped over and dove into the water.

"Wow." Naraku looked down. "Get them." he ordered and one of his crew members immediately jumped in.

"Kikyo!" Inuyasha called desperately but there was no answer. The water was still as both ships looked down.

Then there were two tiny bubbles that popped on the surface, followed by a huge explosion.

The girls screamed as they were shot out of the water.

Kikyo fell onto Inuyasha's deck where he promptly caught her.

But Kagome, who was in the crew mates arms, landed onto Naraku's.

"Let me go!" Kagome struggled.

"Well, I am a man of my word." Naraku said. "Kikyo is all yours. Fire at will."

Suddenly all his cannons slammed into Inuyasha's ship causing Han to scream in pain as water poured in.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome screamed as she was led into the captain's quarters.

"Kagome!" He yelled back but one of the sails had fallen on him and he was stuck and most of his crew was scrambling, trying to save the ship. "KAGOME!"

But their ship was leaving. The crew was laughing at them as a wind caught their sails and moved them away.

"NO!" Miroku and Sango ran over and lifted the heavy sail off of Inuyasha but his leg had been broken and would no longer support his weight.

Their ship got away.

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Now don't anybody throw lots of questions at me. I will answer them all next chapter, okay?


	17. Reached Only By Living Ship

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

You know what's funny? I thought i was supposed to go back to school today but I don't have to be back until tomarrow!!! And I got up early and got dressed for no reason!!

**Chapter 16: Reached Only By Living Ship**

"Here." Miroku thrust a glass of water into Kikyo's shaking hands.

"I'm sorry." she said again. Inuyasha was glaring at her from his seat waiting impatiently for his leg to finish healing.

"What did you do, Kikyo?" he asked again his voice still dark and cold.

"I didn't mean it." she started crying again. "I just...just...wanted to impress him." she finished quietly.

"I'm pretty sure you managed that." Inuyasha growled. "Now tell me what happened."

"His name is Naraku. He came over to my house a little while after you left, maybe a year or so." she wiped a tear off her face. "He...was....he was so charming. I thought he really loved me. So, after a while, I told him what I was. He seemed to love me just that much more. He was really understanding of what I was going through."

"I was understanding of what you were going through, Kikyo." Inuyasha said. "And I wasn't planning on kidnapping you."

"Inuyasha you don't understand!" Kikyo shook her head. "I never wanted to give up my powers. That was my great great grandfathers idea. I wanted to know how to sing! And if my parents had their way, I wouldn't even know I was a Singer at all. You see, I'm a special type of Singer, and my parents had to tell me, they had no choice. I'm a...what's called a Guardian."

"Your a what?" Inyasha growled and slammed his fist on the chair in frustration.

"You know what that is?" Kikyo asked.

"Kagome is a Guardian. But unlike you, she can use her powers."

Kikyo gasped. "That's what he wanted. A fully trained Guardian. How could you give him..."

"Kikyo your in no position to be threatening me. Get on with your story!"

Kikyo nodded getting quiet again. The entire crew had gathered around her and were looking at her with unfriendly eyes. No one took away one of their own, and as far as they were concerned, Kikyo had helped in Kagome's kidnapping.

"Well, I...I told him what I was and he took me abord his ship one day. He said he just wanted to show it to me. But when I got on board he had his men capture me and then we sailed out to the Dead Plains. But when we got there, there was grass growing, and the earth was healed. Naraku was so mad. He ran into the village and destroyed it looking for answers and found out that a silver haired captain had sailed out not long after returning from the forest where the Dead Plain was. So we went looking for you."

Kikyo sniffed and curled tighter into her ball of misery. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen Inuyasha."

"Don't you dare call me that." Inuyasha said evily. "That's Captain Silver to you."

Kikyo gasped at the formality. "There was a time when you loved me. What happened to those feelings?"

"I did exactly what you asked me to do with them." He leaned forward and sneered, "I forgot about them."

He leaned back and looked at her as if she was scum. "Take her down to teh cargo hold."

"What!?" Kikyo looked around frightened as two men of the crew came forward and lifted her easily. "Your throwing me into the brig?"

"Never said that." Inuyasha smirked. "I'm a pirate captain, you'll only be in the way up here. And what gets in my way, I throw off my ship."

Kikyo bowed her head and started crying as they bore her away and she whispered. "He's going to kill her."

"What!?" Inuyasha said angerily.

"I wanted to impress him, so I lied in my telling of the riddle. I said that a Singer had to be sacrificed to get the jewel. A fully trained Singer."

* * *

Kagome screamed as another lash hit her already bleeding back.

"Do you feel like telling me where now?" Naraku asked calmly as she kneeled bleeding and crying before him.

"I don't know where." she said again her voice broken up and cracked.

He nodded to the whipper and her brought the whip down on her back again, and again, and again.

"How about now, did we jog your memory?"

"I....I don..."

He nodded and the whip was brought down again.

They had been there for so long and Kagome just couldn't take anymore. She had been beaten and whipped into an inch of her life and she just couldn't hold the information in any longer.

"It's on an island, off of Mona Ca...Callaya."

"Are you sure?" Naraku asked and the whip came down on her back again.

"Yes!! Yes! It's there I swear!"

Naraku kneeled down and grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. He smiled as if they were best friends. "Good. If I find your lying to me, a whip sting will seem like heaven to what I'll do to you."

The men dropped her and they all left her there, bleeding into the darkened pitch stained wood of the brig of his ship.

Kagome cried to herself before she was able to start to mumble the spell of healing in a broken tear filled voice.

She was in such pain and she had told him where the jewel was. And that was exactly what he wanted.

_Flashback_

_"Hello." Naraku smiled at her as he walked into the brig followed by three men. Two of which grabbed her arms and pulled her up to her knees._

_"My name is Naraku, was is yours?" Kagome had spit on his shoe. He had sighed and nodded to the man beside her who immediatly pulled back his fist and punched her in the face._

_"Let's try that again, what is your name?"_

_"Kagome." she looked at him with hate filled eyes._

_"Well, hello Kagome. See don't you feel better now that we know each other?" She had not responded. "I need you here Kagome because you have information Kikyo, alas, did not. You have been to the Dead Plains, so you know where Utopia is. Now since we're friends, maybe you'd like to tell me where it is."_

_"Go to hell!" Kagome snarled back. That's the only thing I'll tell you!"_

_Naraku nodded to the man behind her who brought down the whip for the first time making Kagome cry out._

_"Let's try this again..."_

Normal

She couldn't get his evil sneering face out of her head. The way he had looked at her as if she were nothing, brought her pain beyond her imagining, treated her like less than a person.

It was the first time she had ever experianced what a lot of Singers went through these days.

"Oi, wench." a big man came down and grabbed her. "Captain wants you up top. Says your supposed to Sing him to the island."

He dragged her up to the deck and threw her at Naraku's feet at the bow of the ship.

"Hello Kagome." he said happily. "Do you mind Singing a song for me?"

Kagome glared at him and sang up a wind to push his sails along.

"That's a good girl. Your finally learning where your place is."

And that's the rutine her life picked up. She would sing up a wind for him until she passed out. Then she would wake up back in her cell until some one came to check if she had woken up. Then they would take her back up top where she would Sing some more until she passed out again starting the circle over. She had been only given the water that was left in a dirty bucket but it was all she had. At one point some one had given her a crust of stale bread but she ate it greedily and that was the only food she got in the 2 week long journey.

"Land ahead!" the man in the crows nest yelled one day as Kagome Sang to the wind.

Naraku walked to the rail and waited to see what the man had already spotted from his higher vantage point. When he did he smiled and looked down at Kagome who had been proped against the railing. "It looks as if you didn't lie to me after all my dear."

Kagome wasted no energy on glaring at him, not when she was so close.

Naraku's eyes narrowed in hunger as he stared at the approaching land.

Suddenly something hit the ship causing it to jerk to the side making every one aboard fall.

"What the..." Naraku said but he didn't get to finish because something hit on the other side tossing every one around some more.

"What's going on here!" Naraku demanded.

"Captain! They're waves, Captain!" the man in the crows nest yelled before another hit flinging him out and into the sea.

_"Heto no kydo che loringana." _Kagome said calmly. "Reached only by living ship." she looked at Naraku whose eyes filled with hate. "Living ships, whose hull is 3 times as strong as yours, are the only ones who can sail these waters." A huge crash followed the next wave. "Yours will only sink to the bottom."

Naraku growled as some one yelled out. "We're taking on water Captain!"

"More waves are coming, Captain!"

"What do we do, Captain?"

Naraku back handed Kagome sending her sprawling. "Abandon ship!" he yelled out as his men started jumping out.

"You bitch." He picked her up by her throat. then he threw her, just tossed her with all his strength into the sea.

By the time Kagome hit the water she ahd already passed out again.

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reviews plz!


	18. Is In The Dream

Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P

Okay, you guys seem to be misunderstanding something that was implayed, but I never really typed. You see, someone was like 'well why doesn't she just fry their asses. I would. Strike them with lightning.' Okay good idea, would be funny as hell, but if ya'll remember in chapter I-don't-remember when Kagome had to kill Han's family, how she said their deaths would hurt her not them and how I keep saying how her spirit is always in touch with things around her. Those are the subtle signs. She can't cause pain with her voice, without feeling their pain as well, so she strikes and 'frys their asses' she feels it too k!!

**Chapter 17: Is In The Dream**

"Capitan! Land ahead!" Miun screamed at him from the crows nest.

Inuyasha watched the horizan anxiously. His leg had healed in the trip here and he was standing on it clenching and unclenching his fist in nerves.

"Look at that." Miroku said as people stopped to watch the island draw nearer. Even from this distance you could make out large stone buildings and monuments. Most had vines climbing up thier sides and one even had a tree bursting through it's roof. The rocks seemed to all be marble. White, black, gray, even green, blue, and pink.

"It's beautiful." Miroku said before their ship rocked a little.

"What was that?" Inuyasha asked looking around.

**"Oh nothing. I'm just getting bashed by really small powerful waves."**

"What?" Inuyasha walked over to the railing and looked down just in time to watch another wave crash into his ship.

"Must be the part that only living ships can pass." Miroku guessed looking too.

"You think?" Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

**"Unfortunatly, he's right. And these waves even hurt me a little. And uh, sorry capitan, but there'****s wrckage from a ship here. Some fairly new wreckage."**

Inuyasha ordered everyone back to work as he looked for signs of the ship. And he found them, boards, a sail, rope, even a body laying face down in the water.

"The sea is tearing ships apart."

Inuyasha turned and saw Kikyo. "I thought I said stay under."

"I couldn't help but come up." She walked toward the city. "This place, it calls to me. Almost as if it wants to welcome me, but I can't hear it."

**"Kind of like me. She hates it when I talk. She can't really hear me, more like a buzz in the back of her head."**

Kikyo got this breif look of annouyence on her face before she shook her head and continued looking.

**I like talking around her. Did it for two hours straight yesterday. My own personal payback for my lady."**

Inuyasha tried not to laugh but he was secretly glad. He knew it was irrational but he still saw Kikyo partly at fault for what had happened.

"Look the beach!" Sango pointed as they got close enough to the island to start making out details.

"What is that?" Inuyasha pointed to a dot on the beach.

"I don't know." She took out her spy glass and peered through and gasped.

"Inuyasha It's...It's Kagome!"

"What?!" He grabbed the glass and looked and saw Kagome lieing on her stomach half way out of the water.

"Kagome!" he ran and jumped out of the ship and swam towards the shore.

"There he goes. Reckless as usual." Miroku said he didn't know if Kagome was dead or alive and didn't want to get too hopeful yet.

Inuyasha swam as fast as his arms and legs could go and ended up jumping the rest of the way the second his feet touched the bottom.

"Kagome! Kagome." he kneeled next to her and saw the whip marks on her back. Carefully he turned her over revealing her bruised face.

But she was breathing, slowly and not very evenly, but she was breathing.

Almost too happy he picked her up gently and started back to the ship.

Han let down his ladder when he got there and Inuyasha climbed up one-handed. Unlike Kikyo, the island didn't welcome him. In fact, it seemed to repel him.

Inuyasha put her down gently on his bed while her friends crowded around.

"Kagome." Inuyasha grabbed her hand and started to rub it to warm it up.

This action seemed to affect her because her eyes fluttered and she opened them very slowly.

"Inu...Inuyasha?"

He nodded. "Yeah, it's me. I'm here. Are you alright?"

"Water, please." she said but Miroku was already there with a glass. Gently Inuyasha lifted her head up and Miroku brought the glass to her lips.

When she was done he put ehr back down as if she was made of spun glass.

"Kagome, what happened?" Sango asked.

"His ship...it wasn't a ....a...lori-thingy..." she was groggy and her eyes wouldn't open all the way. "it...couldn...make the....the waves..."

"It's alright Kagome. You can go to sleep." Inuyasha said but she seemed determined to talk.

"I knew... I knew...he wouldn...make it....but...I old 'im...an,way." here words started to disconnect and she dropped letters. "'e...'e...whipp...whipped..m...."

"Kagome, it's fine. Just go to sleep." Inuyasha said and was happy when he got a nod.

"Tir...red." and she was sleeping.

* * *

When Kagome woke up, she was alone and in Inuyasha's room and for one second she thought it was back when he had first found out she was a Singer, then it all came back.

She reached around to feel her wounds and felt bandages, she had been taken out of her shredded cloths and put in new ones, no doubt Sango's doing, and a cup of water and bowl of soup next to her.

"food." she said falling onto it. There wasn't much there but she knew she couldn't each much or it would come right back up. The tiny pieces of meat and vegetables hit her stomach hard but oh, it was so good.

When she had licken the bowl clean and drank her water she finally looked around and noticed it was daytime and the crew was out.

**"Hey my lady. Enjoy your meal?"**

"Hello Han. It's good to be back."

**"It's good to have you back. I'm telling you with only the koinu to talk to, I was missing an intelectual equal."**

Kagome chuckled softly. "Where is Inuyasha?"

**"His Royal Highness is outside worrying. He only left with the promise I would get him when you woke up, but I thought it would be kinder to let you eat first."**

"Thank you, Han."

**"I truly am sorry for what happened to you lady. Those scars on your back remind me of mine."**

"You have no scars on your back, you don't even have a back." she tried to joke with him about it.

"**I still wish you had never felt the sting of the whip."**

It got quiet as niether knew quite what to say until Han broke the silence by saying, **"Well I'll get the koinu. He'll be mad enough I didn't wake you the second you woke up."**

And his presence vanished from the room. But Kagome was only alone for a second before Inuyasha came in his face full of worry.

"Kagome." He ran to her and knelt down in front of her as she sat on the side of the bed. "You okay?"

"I'm fine." Kagome promised. "Where are we?"

"We're still at Utopia." He stood and brushed some hair behind her ear. "Are you sure your okay?"

"Yes. When do we dock?" she asked trying to get his mind off of her, but it didn't really work.

"When your ready." He promised.

"Inuyasha we're here. We're finally where the Shikon no Tama is. Aren't you excited?"

"I just can't believe I almost lost you!" He picked her up and hugged her tight to his chest.

"It's okay. I'm alright now." She said hugging him back.

He leaned back and searched her face. "I'm sorry. I tried to get you, but you fell with that man onto his ship and Kikyo fell onto mine. I tried to come after you but..."

"Shh." Kagome said placing her hand on his lips. "It's alright." she smiled at him gently.

Slowly, almost cautiosly, he moved forward and pressed his lips against hers. It was an apology, and much more than that, it was a declaration of his feeling.

They toppled onto the bed together and.....

* * *

"Grandpa, don't make it gross." One of his grandsons complained.

The old man laughed as his wife threatened him with a cooking spoon. "He better not." she looked at him sternly. "Don't forget, your telling this story to children."

"Yes my darling wife." He smiled at her charmingly until she turned back to her cooking.

"Now, where was I..."

"You were a day after where you left off." His wife said.

He chuckled again. "Very well. The next day..."

* * *

"Hey, Inuyasha." Miroku said with a perverted smile as they left the room the next day. "Have fun last night?"

"Miroku if you know what's good for you, you'll shut up." Kagome, surprisingly, said making Inuyasha look at her with pride.

"Yeah, Miroku." Sango glared at him as Han lowered a small dingy into the water to take her, Miroku, Kagome, Shippo, Inuyasha, and Rikos to shore. They had tried to leave Shippo behind but he wouldn't hear of it.

"I went to the Dead Plains with you, I'm going to Utopia." and he couldn't be dissuaded.

Inuyasha grabbed up Kagome who held Shippo and jumped down into the dingy as Miroku and Sango took the ladder down.

"Let's go. We got a jewel to find." Inuyasha smiled up at them.

"Your happy today." Miroku said with another perverted grin as he stepped into the dingy. "Wonder why?"

But he never got to finish that thought because Sango's boot came down and knocked him upside the head.

"Oops." she said before sitting down.

"Let's go." Kagome said as Inuyasha grabbed the ores. "Onto Utopia."

* * *

Naraku picked himself up off of the sand, most of his body covered in seaweed. He had a trail of blood going down his forhead but he looked at where he had washed up and smiled.

"Shikon no Tama, you are mine."

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bum-bum-bum!!!!!!


	19. Past the Deciet

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P**

hmm...I know I have another story in the works but I just finished a book by Nora Roberts, and I know we're not supposed to copy her books, as stated in the guidelines, but her story influenced me and I want to write one and it will be my own and not a thing like the one she wrote. I just got inspired. The book was good, but it won't be anything like hers. It will be about a soap opera star named Kagome and a....somebody I haven't dediced what yet, and his name is Inuyasha, love love love, secrets, deciet, hurt, drama drama drama and of course, murder. What would ya'll think if I tried to write a muder mystery set around Inuyasha and the gang? I'll come up with a summery and pitch it to you at the end of the chapter!!!

**Chapter 17: Past the Deciet**

"Wait up." The gang looked up at Kikyo desended the latter. (Thank you for giving me the idea of letting her come along you know who you are:D)

"Your not welcome, Kikyo." Inuyasha said his voice cold.

"Let me come along. These are my roots just as much as hers." Kikyo pointed to Kagome.

"Your not..."

"Okay." Kagome agreed softly shutting Inuyasha up.

"What? Kagome you want to let her come along?" Inuyasha was confused.

"This is her ancestor, just as much as mine. She has just as much a right to be here as me." Inuyasha looked into Kagome's and saw no jelousy, no wrath, just a sence of duty, loyalty, and most of all pity.

_"How sad. A Singer who doesn't Sing is usually miserable. We're made to Sing, it's what we love to do."_

Her words from many nights ago came back to him. She just wanted to give her the piece of her ancestory she had been missing all this time.

And he couldn't refuse her.

"She can come." Was all he said before he started rowing away from the ship.

**"Oh sure, let the bitch come along. Your too soft for your own good, my lady." **Han complained. Kagome giggled and Inuyasha smirked in agreement.

"What is that?" Kikyo asked finally fed up with the strange sense in the back of her head. "And what is so funny?"

"Han is funny." Kagome said immediatly.

"Who is Han?"

"He's the one you've been feeling." Kagome said and Kikyo looked at her in shock. How had she known. Could trained Singers read minds?

"He told me you can't hear him. Only a buzz in the back of your brain. That's because your soul is closed off." Kagome had no idea why she felt the need to instruct Kikyo. But she wanted to learn, and it was her right to know.

"My soul...?"

"Yes. You must open yourself. Concentrate on being with the world around you." The others watched in fasination as Kikyo closed her eyes and furrowed her eye brows.

**"Testing, testing." **Han obliged them.

Kikyo shook her head. "I can still hear the buzz, but nothing else."

"Your trying too hard." Kagome said immediatly remembering what it was like when she first learned to welcome in the world around her. "Relax. Close your eyes." Kikyo did and the furrow came back as she struggled. Kagome reached across and placed her hand on her forhead. "Stop tensing up. Relax, it takes no effort." Kikyo took a deep breath and will her body to relax and her mind to expand. "Don't listen with your ears. Listen with your heart, with your soul."

"**Can....m..now?" **(Who knows what he just said?)

Kikyo opened her eyes in shock as she heard a little bit.

"Very good." Kagome smiled at her.

"What was that?"

Kagome smiled at the ship. "That was Han. Now try again."

And they spent the boat ride listening to Kagome instruct her distant cousin. Miroku found himself closing his eyes and trying to release his soul. Sango was relaxing and Inuyasha was watching Kagome who looked like an angel as her voice became deep and soothing and she willed Kikyo into a trance.

But it was broken when they hit the sand.

"Time to go." Inuyasha stood up and helped Kagome out, but left Kikyo on her own.

"Got you." Rikos said grabbing her hand and letting her down.

"Thank you." Kikyo smiled at him. At least there was one who wasn't rude to her. "You met my mate yet?" He asked as they started walking.

Kikyo shook her head and Rikos launched into a monolouge about how great she was. Kikyo didn't mind. In fact, she kind of liked it.

"Woh!" Sango and Shippo gasped as they reached a huge crumbling marble wall. "What's that?" Shippo asked.

"A wall, a barrier." Kagome said. "It ensured that only Singers could enter the great city." Kagome said. "For there is no door, and there are no locks, and that marble is over 5 feet thick."

"Wow." Rikos wondered at the craftsmanship. "There isn't a single seam on this rock. Where did they find marble this thick?"

"They didn't." Kagome walked over to it and touched the ancient wall. "They Sang the seams together. This wall was once many different chunks of marble. They made it one."

"How do you know?" Kikyo asked walked over to her.

Kagome smiled. "Put your hand on the wall." Kikyo did. "Now open yourself again. Feel the world around you and feel the faint traces of Singer's magic in the stone. It's old, and it's almost inpossible to feel, but it's there."

"So how do we get in, if there's no door?" Rikos asked.

"Maybe the wall fell down in some places. We could walk around and look." Shippo suggested looking around as if to see the whole wall from here.

"No." Kagome said suddenly sure of something. That flower had given her way more than a map to the island, it had given her a map to the city and she knew that the only way to get what they wanted was to go in this way. "We have to go in here. It's the only way to reach the palace."

"But how do we get in?" Inuyasha asked.

"She came this way." Kagome said seeing it all in her mind as if it had just happened.

_The feeble old women crawled out of the small dingy she had came here in and started up the shore. In her withered hands was a box of dark wood containing the Shikon no Tama. This was the only place she could trust it too._

"She walked right out of the boat and over here." Kagome moved a few yards to the right and saw it again.

_She stared at the wall. She was not afraid of it. Then it still shone with all of magnificence and she allowed herself to think about the days when it was full. But she had a mission and she had no time for distractions._

"She wasn't scared of the wall." Kagome said with absolute certainty. "She knew that though her body had grown weak, her powers had only strengthened." It seemed she wasn't even talking to them any more. She was trapped in the memories of the past and her eyes were glowing again.

_The old women Sang a song in her ancient and powerful voice and stepped inside the abandoned city and Sang it shut again._

The memories stopped and Kagome came back to herself.

"We must Sing ourselves an entrance." She said. "Kikyo, will you help me?" she asked on a whim.

"Oh I can't. I don't know how..."

"Every Singer knows how." Kagome said. "It's just a matter of knowing the Song. I shall guide you and you need not say any words at all. Just Sing with me."

Kikyo stared at the hand Kagome had offered her for a second. At first her hesitance was over the lessons her parents had instilled in her, then came doubt. She couldn't Sing. She had never done so in her life it was forbidden in the house. But Kikyo stepped forward and took Kagome's hand.

"You can Sing in the modern language if you want. It would probably be better for you. The words wont have as much power but better you know what your saying then try it in the ancient language and mess up and cause the marble to fall onto our heads." Kikyo laughed nervously.

"Your words are these, 'Mother earth, with power strong and old, who is both the mother and the killer, fierce and gentle, soft and strong, hear me and listen to my words. Let down your wall and let us pass we bear no ill to the treasure you guard'."

"Did you just make that up?" Kikyo asked impressed.

"No." Kagome said taking both of her hands in hers. "That is the Song of Opening, made just for this wall and it will respond to no other." Kagome once again had a memory flash of the old women Singing it and the stone melting away.

"Ready?"

"No." Kikyo said instantly but Kagome smiled and gave her a starting note. It was calm and peaceful and Kikyo picked it up as Kagome Sang it in the ancient language.

"Nothing happened." Kikyo said when they stopped.

Kagome, who had opened her mouth to continue said, "Of course not. We must repeat it."

"Oh." Kikyo said and they tried again. Kagome immediatly started glowing but Kikyo started out dull and grew brighter as their Sang grew stronger.

And then the wall melted. Literally melted and formed a long walkway that connected to the one in the city. The roads were old and the marble that formed them cracked and broken with plants growing through them, but still obviously a road.

"Great." Inuyasha said walking in.

"Do we close it?" Kikyo asked.

"No." Kagome said. "There is no point to. We'll close it when we leave." Kikyo nodded and they dropped hands and followed the otehrs inside.

"It's so beautiful." Sango said looking around at the ghost town whose only residants were vines and trees and the flowers and grasses breaking through the granite at their feet. Gardens, they knew what they were as the only places not covered in marble but in rich soil, flourished with flowers and weeds making it look beautiful and exotic. Glass from the windows were not shattered, but stood gleaming in the sun. Birds had claimed the city as theirs and flew where they pleased. A lot of it was covered in whitewash, but not so much you couldn't see the beauty beneath.

"Truly a marvel." Miroku agreed as everyone looked around.

"You should have seen it in it's prime." Kagome said her voice absent as she saw the old women again.

_The buildings felt empty and the gardens, though the beautiful flowers still bloomed, had weeds in them that didn't belong. If she concentrated she could almost hear the sound of children's laughter as it used to be. Hear the Singing of the people, voices and noises. But no longer. And she needed to stop thinking of the past. Not when she had such an important job for the future. She gazed at the box in her hands. In was simple and no more decorated than the old women. She could still hear Modoriko's voice and that of Vestar's as they battled within the jewel. She looked up and started hobbling down the street. This one was a straight line to the palace, and that is where she had to go._

"Vestar." Kagome said coming out of the memory.

"What?" Rikos asked.

"The man, from the battle, his name was Vestar." Kagome looked right down the road they were on. "The palace is this way." And she started walking.

"That's really kinda creepy." Rikos said.

Shippo nodded but they followed her.

"We should be careful." Inuyasha said sniffing.

"For what? Bird poo?" Sango asked looking up at the sky.

"There is no way it will be this easy." Inuyasha said obviously. "Kagome said there would be traps and we have to keep a look out for them."

"You won't know." Kagome said.

"What?"

"Singers had no need for snake pits and stakes in holes in the ground. Their traps will be much different. Things that infect your mind, get into your soul. It will use your deepest fear against you."

"How do you know that?" Sango asked.

_"Hacterad van tihad. Muso comite ithi mal." _she answered her breathing starting to get faster. She didn't Sing the language, just spoke it. "_Elhu mikoido. Masteria van toshu, mikogu lanito."_

"Kagome." Inuyasha said scared as the vines and plants around them started to take life of their own.

"Sango!" Miroku cried as she screamed. A vine caught her leg and tore her down then started wrapping her up squeezing her until he heard her bones crack. "SANGO!" He yelled and tried to pry the vines off of her. "Kagome let her go! She's your friend, let her go!"

"Mir..OKU!" Sango said as the tight vines worked their way up her thighs.

"_Bekito mishta moriar. Miroku mon camato, juhan." _Miroku looked up at a screech and suddenly all the birds in the sky started to dive him, breaking his skin with their talons and beaks as they made him cover his head in fear.

"Mirkou NO!" Sango screeched her own pain intisified by his.

"Kagome stop this!" Inuyasha screamed at her as he ran to his friends aid. But she had already turned her attention to Shippo who was trembling in fright.

"_Hieraitamo!" _and the skin was peeled from her body revealing a purple-ish layer of nastiness that looked like half congealed blood. Her tongue got long and forked and her eyes rolled back into her head revealing only the whites but she still looked at him.

Shippo screached as she reached for him and grabbed him by the neck.

Still strangling him, her head turned a complete 180 and looked at Rikos who was watching it all in fear with Kikyo behind him as he tried to protect her.

_"Palto mass." _she hissed and Kikyo grabbed him from the back and presented a hot white knife in her hand and she held it next to his throught.

Suddenly Kikyo laughed and drew the blade down his arm making Rikos hollar in pain and Kikyo put the blood on her finger and licked it happily.

"Kagome, Kikyo stop! What are you doing!?" Inuyasha yelled running forward and grabbing Kagome's arm trying to keep her from Shippo's neck.

"Foolish half-demon." Kagome's voice was rough and not her own and so alien Inuyasha would not have believed it was hers but for her mouth moving. "Did you honestly think anyone could love you? I just needed you to get me here, and I used you perfectly, don't you think."

"Stop!" Inuyasha cried.

"Oh I don't." Kagome said as if reading his mind. "I have hating having your filthy paws on me since the begining. But you were useful. Bedding you was a nice touch wasn't it? You actually believed I enjoyed it too." she laughed as Inuyasha started shaking.

She was speaking aloud his greatest fear. The fear that she didn't realy love him. He had never said it aloud, hadn't even said it to himself but he knew it was his greatest fear and....

Wait. Greatest fear. That was the trap that the old women had created to stop intruders. Destroy them by their own fear, meaning none of this was real.

Not Miroku's fear of having to watch Sango in pain.

Not Sango's fear of having to watch Miroku in pain.

Not Shippo's fear of getting attacked by a terrifying monster.

Not Rikos' fear of being slowly tortured.

Not Kikyo's fear of blood.

Not Inuyasha's fear of Kagome not really loving him.

And not Kagome's of hurting those dear to her.

"This isn't real." Inuyasha said his voice calm and steady with complete conviction in his voice.

Everyone looked at him and them came to the same conclusion he did.

Then suddenly it was gone.

Everyone was standing just where they were seconds ago. Birds still chirped, no one was injured, Kagome looked like Kagome, and it was as if nothing had happened.

But for the fear on everyones faces.

"Miroku!" Sango called running to him and throwing her arms around his neck.

"Sango." he whispered in her hair just as passionately

Kikyo started gagging and Rikos checked his body for injuries though he knew there wasn't one on his body. Shippo was still trembling as any child even after a nightmare was over and Inuyasha had gathered Kagome in his arms and she kept whispered she loved him in his ear and he kept telling her it was okay.

"Damn." Rikos said making the couples draw apart.

Miroku laughed nervously. "Your people are indeed tricky, Kagome." he said.

Everyone nodded and looked to the city and Kagome got another flash.

_The old women suddenly stopped walking and turned and smiled and knew that if any of her ancestors saw that, they had passed the trap._

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And that summery I promised you! Okay so I was thinking.....:

Kagome was a famous soap star and enjoyed her work tremendously. Inuyasha only stared in the big time movies, but when his mother asked him to be a surprise guest on her favorite soap, he couldn't say no. But after only two days of shooting someone is found shot. Now drama isn't only for TV and...what? You think who did it?

Coming soon, if my reviewers approve!!

So what do you think, trash or maybe you could work something out of that crappy summery....come one what do you think?

LATER!!!!!


	20. In the King's Heart

**Disclaimer: No I do not own Inuyasha so there:P**

hm so the newest story is a go!! Only problem is I can't treat this one like I treat my others. Normally I just wright what I want and screw any planning but a mystery needs planning so it might take me a while until then enjoy my newest also unplanned chapter!!!!

**Chapter 18: In the King's Heart**

Inuyasha had his arm about Kagome's waist as they passed more buildings. They were becoming progressively less damaged as they got closer to the heart of the city, the palace.

"How much farther?" Sango asked looking around cautiously. She hadn't got over the trap from before and was still a little freaked out by it.

"I don't know." Kagome said as they looked around at all the history around them.

"I know Singers used to be more powerful, but I didn't think there would be this many." Inuyasha said awed at the size of the buildings around them. They were over four stories high in some areas, each had a domed roof but there were no flying buttresses to stabilize them. Some buildings had collapsed completely while others were missing a roof.

"Hey, I just thought of something." Rikos said pausing.

"What?" Kagome asked turning around. She had been waiting for another message from her many times great grandmother but had received nothing.

"This war would have been all their worriers, right? So what happened to all the children and elderly and sick. Why didn't they stay behind?" he seemed confused.

Kagome was too. He had a point. The only reason her grandmother would have been on the battle field would have been if she was born there. Many children were born in battle fields, but you didn't take them along with you when you first left home. You would leave them with the old, sick, and injured. And not everyone was a worrier, scholars, noblemen, those not fit for battle like the pregnant women, all would have remained.

So...

"What happened here?" Kagome asked looking around.

_The old women reached a point in the road and sighed in sadness when something caught her eye. Some thing was shining. She walked over to it and pushed back a large leaf. She gasped and stepped back as the body of a women was revealed. Her flesh had been ripped to shreds and she had a dead newborn at her side. Her eyes had been gouged out and the only thing that remained was a golden necklace._

_Something shrieked and the women turned. Something had climbed onto the roof of a building. It looked like a giant winged insect with pure white eyes. It buzzed it's wings at her and studied her for a second. Then it lept..._

Kagome gasped as the memory released her.

"What happened?" Inuyasha asked.

She ignored him and walked over to a garden at her right. She pushed away at some foliage and bent down and dug in the dirt.

"What you looking for?" Miroku asked.

Kagome saw something shine and carefully removed it from the earth.

"Oh, pretty shine." Rikos said as she lifted a golden pendant out of the dirt. She rubbed her finger over the front removing as much grime as she could. It had an engraving of a bird on it with it's wings out, lifted and Kagome immediately recognized it.

She walked out and back onto the road not letting go of it.

"What's that?" Kikyo asked looking at it over her shoulder.

"Some thing was here." Kagome said. "Vestar had sent other worriers of his to fight the city. He ordered his winged and flight worthy demons to attack. No worriers remained to defend the city, and they were quickly killed."

The necklace in her hands told her the last moments of the women's life. How she had grabbed her baby and ran, how the demon had pounced and killed both her and her child.

"Grandmother found one." Kagome looked up at the building where it had lept from. "What happened to you?"

_The old women held up the box and opened it. A bright light immediately shot out and tore the bug to pieces scattering it in the winds. The old women breathed a sigh of relief. A premature one. With an angry hiss many more lept from their hiding places. And not just incest demons, but many more. The old women repeated the action and they all fell to the bright light without a corpse left._

_A soft meow made her jump and see a small two tailed cat at her side. It meowed again and bumped her legs._

_"Hello, small one." She said her voice cracked and aged. "You are a demon, yet you do not attack. Or are you incapable?" The cat meowed again and was ingulfed in flames and then before her stood a proud cat demon with fire along it paws._

_"Ah, may you do me a favor then?" The cat bumped it's head against hers. "Guard this place for me."_

_She opened the box again and the cat was too engulfed. But instead of disappearing it just roared then the light was gone. "You shall guard this place for me, forever."_

Kagome screamed, "Look out!" and Inuyasha turned in time to see the cat pounce.

He jumped out of the way just in time and landed a few yards away. The cat growled darkly.

Kagome held up her hands, palms out, and said in a calm steady voice, "_We bare you no ill will."_

The cat recognized the ancient language and walked toward her slowly. Inuyasha made a move as if to run to her side, but the cat had already bumped her head against Kagome's hand.

_The old women walked next to Kirara. Kirara was glad she was able to understand the spoken language so well. "You will wait here for my ancestor. I know not when they will come, all I know is they will come. When they get here, put this memory in their head. If they see it they are of my blood, if not....well you know what to do." Kirara meowed in agreement._

"Kirara." Kagome said and smiled. The cat hissed happily and transformed into her smaller self. "Friends, this is Kirara, the jewel's guardian."

"Ooh, cool." Rikos said looking at it.

"She's so cute." Sango gushed as she knealed down and picked her up. Kirara was in heaven as Sango found just the right spot behind her ears that she hadn't been able to itch in a few hundred years.

"Listen, she's purring." Shippo said with all the delight of a kid.

"Will she help us?" Miroku asked.

Kagome nodded. "She had been waiting for us." And she started walking again.

"That is seriously creepy." Rikos said and Kikyo nodded in agreement.

They all started walking again. But no one, not even Kirara, noticed the shadow following them at a safe distance away.

They walked, passing buildings and marvles for hours before they finally found the royal palace.

It stood in a sea of green and plants with a long walk way leading to a pair of, what once was, large double doors. The marble in the palace wasn't just one color, it was shades of color. Lights and darks, pastels and vibrant. The windows were stained and the stone glistened in the sun where they had put precious gems in the stone to accent the amazing artwork of the stone.

"Damn." Rikos said staring at it.

"It's beautiful." Both Kikyo and Sango said.

"Let's go." Inuyasha said. "We're almost there."

And they turned and started walking into the Heart of Paradise, The King's Heart, The Royal Palace.

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Sorry guys. I would have updated last night but my damn Internet said 'not responding' and I had to x out without saving and rewrite it this morning. Hope you liked!


	21. Authors Note

Authors note! Important!

Guys I am so sorry I haven't written in a while, but my Internet at my house went off and right now I'm writing at school. I don't know when I'll be able to write again, I'm working on getting my Internet back but until then I can't write. I will continue as soon as I can and I am so sorry for cutting you guys off like that! please forgive me and be patient. I'll write another chapter as soon as I'm able. I'm posting this on all my unfinished stories. Give me a little time please and sorry. Write to you as soon as I can and sorry for the wait and sorry for the wait to come, I promise when I find time to write again I will make it the most kick as chapter possible!! Forgive me!!!!!

Much love and apologies,

Sombra


	22. Through Heavan's Gate

Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Inuyasha

You'll never guess what I got back?!! Yup, my Internet!!! And here, with much thanks to your patience and toleration, is the chapter I promised you!!!

**Chapter 19: Through Heaven's Gate**

"It's so beautiful." Sango said in a reverent whisper as they walked through the empty palace doorway.

"Woh." Rikos and Shippo said at the same time staring in wonder at the large welcoming room.

"Look at that staircase." Kikyo said. It was wide at the bottom but thinner at the the middle and again wide at the top. It would be a great staircase to walk down showing off your beauty. The dust in the air bothered no one.

"The treasure is still here." Inuyasha said wiping a layer of dust off of a silver candle holder. "This place really hasn't seen anyone since the last Singer died.

"Just look at this architecture." Miroku said admiringly. The stone beneath their feet was smooth and unblemished by cracks caused by stones being lined up together. It all had an air of delicacy about it that took the breath away.

Kagome stared straight up at the large, many tiered chandelier still hanging from the ceiling. They were hard to make out through the darkness and grime, but it looked as if it was hung with crystals, pure white crystals. "Made for beauty, not as a fortress."

"Well, where to?" Rikos asked at last.

Kirara stepped forward and walked through an open doorway to the right. She turned and looked back at them and meowed as if to say, "Well, aren't you coming?"

They followed her, gazing at the rooms they passed.

A large dining room with the giant monolithic wooden table still standing. A long hallway with windows of stained glass in every color imaginable, some broken, but most still as beautiful and breathtaking as ever. Another staircase that led them up to a long hallway filled with doors that time had not yet claimed. Here the wood was inlaid with jewels, each precious and shining. Except one door that had only circular holes that made Inuyasha believe it had once held pearls, the most delicate of all gems.

One door stood ajar and Kirara walked right in. Everyone followed and saw that Kirara had taken a room and made it her own over the long years spent here. There were many pillows and blankets that moths and other rodents had not claimed. In some spaces and on some shelfs there was some treasure or some other such thing that Kirara had taken in there to decorate with.

Kagome walked over to the long empty fireplace and touched a golden circlet on the mantle. It was encrusted with fine jewels, mostly small as if they were stars shining in many colors as it moved in the sunlight. "The crown jewels." Kagome said recognizing such a thing immediately.

"Shippo hopped onto her shoulder and looked at it. "It's pretty." He said reaching out to touch it. He ran his hands over it softly as if he knew, even at his young age, to be gentle with it.

"Put it back, NOW!" Sango's voice rang in the hallway. Miroku, Inuyasha, Kagome, and Shippo turned to the doorway, which Sango and Rikos had not come through.

"It's mine, I found it and there is no one here to claim it." His voice said, the sound moved as if he was heading to the room.

But Sango burst through ahead of him and looked at Inuyasha dead in the eyes and said, "Make him put them back!"

"Put what..." he started but that was answered when Rikos came through the door his arms filled with jewels and treasures that he had picked up throughout the palace.

"Rikos!" He said knowing immediatly what happened. "What are you doing?!"

"Pirates right." He said his chin up. "Take your treasure, women, and drink at will and if a man says no, take his life as well."

"Rikos how could you?" Kikyo said her cheeks flushed in anger as she came in not a step behind him. Kirara hissed at him.

"What's the problem, no one's cared before?" He said unhappily. Sango marched up to him and tried to pry to pry a golden plate out of his hands.

"Hey, that's mine!"

"Gimme!" Sango and Rikos pulled on the plate as he dropped the rest of the stolen goods as the plate seemed to take first place in his desire for the riches.

"Rikos let go!" Inuyasha ordered as Kikyo grabbed Sango's waist and tried to help pull the plate away from him.

"Rikos drop it!" Kagome ordered with tears in her eyes. Rikos saw them and his grip on the plate went slack and the two girls fell over.

"Owie." Kikyo said rubbing her rump.

"Hah!" Sango said triumphant as she tried to get the rest of the goods before Rikos did.

"Kagome..." He seemed genuinely said about her unshed tears. "Sorry...I...I didn't think anyone would care. It's just an old building."

"Maybe to you. But this old building is who I am." Kagome said sadly.

Rikos and Kagome looked at each other silently for ten heartbreaking silent seconds. Finally Rikos hung his head in shame and Sango grabbed the last artifact and took them to Kirara's bed.

It was silent for a moment more before Rikos finally muttered, properly shamed, "Sorry."

"It's okay." Was all Kagome said as her wet eyes cleared. Rikos looked up his face in a comic puppy pout, "Forgiven?" He asked half tease, half serious.

Kagome smiled weak against that innocent and sad face. "Forgiven."

He smiled happily and crashed on Kirara's pillows, not even looking at the treasure as he said, "So where's this gate we're supposed to find next?"

"Heaven's Gate." Kagome said thinking. "Well I'm guessing that it would be at the center of the palace."

"Well the center of a palace is usually the throne room." Miroku said helpfully.

"Been to many palaces?" Inuyasha asked leaning against the wall.

"Common sense, the throne room was to hold audiences, it's only right to put it in the middle." he said sticking his nose in the air.

"Can you lead us, Kirara?" Sango asked.

The cat demon leapt from the bed and left the room again everyone following her eagerly seeing the end of their adventure looming.

* * *

Sango's breath escaped in a rush as they walked into the throne room. It echoed back loudly as it bounced of the neglected, but beautiful walls.

"Oh my God." Kagome said so lightly that it shouldn't have possibly echoed, but it did. The floor was white marble with ribbons of varying shades of gray twisting through it. Some parts were chipped and all was dusty covering it's brilliance, but it was still breathtaking. The walls were so covered in grime and cobwebs and dust that you could only make out faint lines of the designs etched into it. Birds and leaves, flowers and trees, nature, beautiful despite the grime.

There was a single chair, a tall proud throne with just as much dirt as the floor. There were large columns on either side still standing tall and proud, all but one that was laying broken and cracked halfway down the long room. The ceiling had once been made of glass and their were sharp shards still winking in the fading sunlight with the steel framework showing a pale imitation of the shape of the glass. There was ivy and plants growing down through the broken glass and sweeping gently on the floor.

It had an air of neglect and time that overpowered them. The ghosts of so many people's lives suddenly hit them with such force it almost knocked them down. A bird called from outside and they heard it reflected a hundred times over in the echo.

"Hell of a throne room." Rikos said walking to a wall and wiping away the layer of grime revealing a large diamond that sat where the eye of the outlined bird was.

"It's so....so...." Even the non-Singers could feel the magic here, but for Kikyo it was something new and amazing. Something she had always known existed but had been just out of reach.

"This is it." Kagome said deffinativley looking straight ahead, her eyes unfocused yet still focused on the room.

"What do you see?" Inuyasha asked setting a hand she ignored on her shoulder.

"I can feel it." She walked forward her eyes glued to the wall behind the throne. She walked around the fallen column and beautifully made chair and headed to the wall, the only section that didn't depict something from nature.

"What is it?" Kikyo asked drawn toward it as well.

Kagome started wiping the grime away from it, getting her hands and dress filthy but not really caring. Rikos, still trying to make up for his mistake, ran forward and started helping. Kagome payed him no mind, nor Kikyo when she joined, or any of the others.

Finally she stepped back and the others followed suit to see what they had uncovered. They were all filthy, Inuyasha's hair was more silver than gray and every one's clothes were filthy. Shippo sneezed once and Sango looked like she was about to follow.

But the design had taken every one's attention. There were four, full gray, shapes in the middle making four corners of a diamond shape. They were carved like many faceted gems but were dull and not from the dust. Each one had a tail coming off one corner that led into a different design. The one on top had just a single line, it turned many corners but they were all straight and perfect. At each corner there was a tiny emerald and where the line stopped at the high ceiling there was a much larger emerald slightly pulsing.

The one on the right had a flowing swirlish design sprouting from it's tip. At the center of the many swirls which all branched off each other, there was a small white diamong with a larger one were the swirls ended, also slightly pulsing.

The bottom had graceful sweeping lines each one branching off the other in a design that made them think of fire. At the begging and end of each line was a small ruby and, like the other two a larger ruby at the floor. This one, however, was not pulsing and in fact looked almost as dull as the gems in the center.

The last one on the left had wavelike lines with sapphire dust in all the lines. It also had a large sapphire at the end, and like the ruby it was dull and lifeless.

"What is it?" Shippo asked.

Sango walked over to the diamond and used her sleeve to clean off a little more grime. With more of it in the air she finally sneezed, right on the diamond. They all gasped as the pulsing increased and white light started to make it's way down the lines. Sango stepped back, but just as soon as it started the light faded.

"Wow. Sneeze again." Rikos said smiling.

"You can't sneeze on command." Sango snapped not taking her eyes off the gem which had returned to normal.

"Blow on it." Kagome said. She turned to her and saw her eyes were strong and deep and no longer unfocused.

"Uh...sure." Sango took a deep breath and blew hard on the gem.

Again the pulsing increased and expanded, racing down the swirling lines lighting up the other diamonds and finally landing on the gray lump. It flared a bright white. There was tension in the air, as everyone waited for something, but the glow faded and it returned to normal.

"What a rip off." Rikos complained.

"Why are only those two glowing?" Shippo asked.

Kagome walked up to it and ran her hands on the gray lumps.

"Singers are most at home on the sea." she said sounding like she was quoting a book. "But every element listens to their voice. The four base element being thus: Earth," She looked at the emerald, "Air," The diamond, "Fire," the ruby, "And Water." and the sapphire.

She reached down and grabbed a handful of grime and dust and threw it in the air. It hit the emerald making it glow and do the same process as the diamond. One again, one of the lumps glowed, green this time, but it stopped again after only a few seconds.

"Get water, fire, and dirt." Kagome ordered.

Miroku grabbed his water skin as Rikos ran outside. Sango and Kikyo dropped to the ground to gather the dirt and dust that made the grime and pile it into a large pile.

A minute later Rikos ran back in with a log that Shippo set on fire with his fox magic.

"At the same time." Kagome said. Miroku opened his skin and held it up to the sapphire, Inuyasha grabbed two hand fulls of the pile of dust and got ready to jump, Rikos with Shippo on his shoulder held the torch at the ready next to the ruby and Sango and Kikyo stood next to the diamond.

"Now." Kagome order and as one they placed their elements to their gems.

Sango and Kikyo blew hard making the gem pulse brighter and sending the white light down the lines to the lump again, Miroku's water made the sapphire finally activate and run down it's lines lighting the sapphire dust with blue light.

Inuyasha jumped and slammed both of his hands full of dirt onto the emerald and Rikos put the torch directly on the ruby.

Different colors of light flared from the four jewels and once they were all lit, they moved together circling around each other and coming closer together.

Then they touched and a light burst forth again, this one was one they had never seen, so bright and beautiful in no color of the rainbow they knew.

And the light faded and they stared, with light dazzled eyes, into a large room filled with treasure.

"Woh." Rikos said as the gold in the sealed room shined with barely any dust on it.

They all walked inside with careful footsteps to examine what could only be the royal treasury.

"There's so much stuff." Sango picked up a silver staff with a large spherical emerald at the top.

"I won't touch nothing." Rikos promised Kikyo who was glaring at him but his eyes said he dearly wanted to.

"There must be at least three fortunes in here." Inuyasha said gazing at a gold coin.

"Too bad you wont be able to enjoy it." Everyone turned at the dark humor filled voice.

Naraku stood framed in the doorway, a knife at Kagome's neck who had not moved from the spot where she had stood before. Here eyes were unfocused and lost again and she stood limply in Naraku's arms.

"Now this doesn't have to be violent does it?" Naraku asked smiling evilly.

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Sorry no more for you for now. *smiles wickedly* What's a kick ass chapter without a cliffy like that, huh?


	23. The End

Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Inuyasha

Ooh it's so nice to have my reviewers back, *Sighs happily*

**Chapter 20: The End**

Inuyasha, without hesitating, jumped up and ran towards Kagome.

Naraku dug the blade into her neck and blood came out and flowed down the knife.

Inuyasha stopped dead and growled uselessly as his fists clenched and unclenched with his desire to have them around Naraku's neck.

"Now I don't want to hurt anyone," He lied easily, "but I will if you don't do exactly as I say."

The treasure was a background in every ones eyes now. Inuyasha's eyes were stuck on that tiny stream of blood knowing he would take out any damage done to her on Naraku's flesh.

"Now, the Jewel must be here somewhere, find it." Naraku ordered as if asking them to pass the salt over a friendly dinner.

Slowly they spread out and looked for that small box in which the jewel rested.

Through this all Kagome had not lost that glassy eyed look, she didn't even flinch when Naraku sliced her. She just stared at the same spot with no emotion on her face.

Inuyasha, the only one who hadn't moved, noticed her gaze and turned around.

The treasury was large, more rectangular than square in shape and filled with more jewels than should be possible. Small ones, large ones, one bigger than Shippo that no one even cared about as they searched.

At the end of the gilded hall was a dark maroon curtain hiding a door. Inuyasha stared at it confused. No other drape or cloth had been saved. They had all been eaten by moths and time. So why was this one still standing?

He looked carefully and saw a small stirring at the bottom as if it was being rustled by an invisible breeze.

"There." He said with aboslute conviction.

"Then let's go." Naraku said trusting Inuyasha would do nothing while he held his precious Kagome. "You first." And in a row, with Naraku at the end, they walked through the large drapes into the source of the power they could all feel.

"Stand against the wall." Naraku ordered trying not to be awed by the room and the power he felt.

It had housed the crown jewels that now sat in Kirara's room, you could tell. The room was perfectly circular with a pedestal on a raised dais in the center. The roof was made of glass much like the throne room but this glass was whole and unbroken. There was no dust here, the air was not stale, in fact there was an aura of life surrounding everything.

And sitting on the pedistal was the wooden box that held the Jewel. Just a plain brown box, no more remarkable that a lump of unformed clay. It had a sealing scroll placed on it's top, not to keep people out, for no one was there, but to keep the force in.

That scroll wasn't powerfully enough, however, to keep the waves of power pulsing from the Jewel across the floor almost like ripples in a pool and ruffling the drapes.

"Amazing." Naraku said as everyone stood against the wall.

Kagome suddenly came to attention. Her eyes were still lost to space but they were focused on the box.

"What's that sound?" Kikyo asked suddenly. It was a whisper, hard to make out what they were saying if they were saying anything. It sounded female, but it was almost a buzz in the back of her head like Han.

The voice stopped and Kagome's lips started moving, she made no sound but her lips moved as if in conversation.

"What's going on?" Inuyasha asked as the waves of power started getting stronger.

* * *

Kagome didn't see the room, she didn't feel the knife at her neck, she didn't hear Naraku or Inuyasha or anyone.

The only thing she saw was a women in battle regalia, she felt her awsome power washing over her, and all she heard was her speaking to her, whispering words she half understood. She paid no mind at first, just listened and floated on the dreamlike cloud she had put her on.

Then she started moving forward, getting closer to the power which welcomed her happily, finally she stopped and the lady started speaking in a way she could understand, drawing her partly out of her trance.

_"Kagome...can you understand me."_

Kagome didn't need to nod nor say an affirmative for she already knew she could.

"_Are you ready?" _The lady, she knew it was Modoriko, smiled gently, "_I knew this day would come."_

_"I am ready great mother." _Kagome said making no sound.

_"You know what must be done? Good. Here." _And her power increased.

* * *

The box's cracks started to glow and it started shaking, struggling against the scroll that held it captive.

"Yes." Naraku said happily. It recognized it's new master. "Here, my Jewel, take this sacrifice and make me king of the ocean." His eyes were wide and crazy with more white showing than eye, he spoke frantically, crazily, as he felt the power increase.

He raised his knife and brought it down to plunge through Kagome's heart.

Everyone started forward to try to stop him, but it was too late to move.

But the knife stopped. Right before the tip hit Kagome's skin it stopped dead. Naraku tried vainly to move it forward but got no where.

Kagome turned around, her eyes were white, pure with no red lines, no pupil, just a pure white that stared directly at him.

"_How dare you hurt my children." _she said her voice changed. It was deeper, huskier, more powerful. And she spoke in the ancient language, but everyone could understand, as if they weren't listening to the words but the meaning of the words.

The box sprang open with a force more powerful than could be believed and crashed among everybody like an avalanche. The glass roof shattered but the shards were forced out and didn't fall. Naraku tried to fight the power but it over whelmed him and threw him back. He hit the wall with enough force to crack his ribs. Every one's hair flew in the wind but no one else was effected as badly.

Kagome turned her gaze on them, but she looked them over once and ignored them. She walked back to the podium and grabbed the brightly glowing jewel.

Without a word she turned and left the room.

Everyone looked at each other than scrambled after her.

She ignored them, just walked straight through the palace

She left it, walked across the fields and into the city. No building caught her attention, she just walked the jewel clutched tight in her fist.

"Kagome..." Inuaysha called but she ignored him.

"Kagome..." he tried again his voice faint.

"..." Miroku studied her before saying carefully, "Modoriko?"

She stopped and turned.

_"So much to do. So little time." _She said looking at Inuyasha. She held his gaze for a second before making a sound in the back of her throat and turning back to her walk.

"What's going on?" Rikos asked.

"It seems Kagome's body has been taken by Modoriko." Miroku said, this time she ignored the sound of her name.

"Is that bad?" Sango asked.

"We will have to see." Miroku said without a break in his step.

* * *

Naraku stood up and shook his head to clear it. He opened his eyes revealing darkness, absolute and uncaring.

"_Modoriko." _His voice was so unlike Naraku's, powerful in an ancient way, darker than the abyss, and forbidden.

* * *

Kagome/Modoriko didn't stop at the waters edge. She walked forward confidently. Her feet didn't sink, but stayed firmly on the waters surface yet she didn't Sing at all.

"_Modoriko!"_Everyone turned and saw Naraku looking darkly at the water.

"Vestar, right?" Miroku guesses. Both Modoriko and Vestar ignored him.

Modoriko held out the gem which sparkled faintly in the sun.

**"Oh man, that is not what I think it is, is it?" **Han complained as Inuyasha's crew looked on from the ship, pointing at Kagome's miracle of walking on water.

_"Lorin'gana." _Modoriko said distracted by Han. she pronounced the name differently than Kagome did, the words had obviously evolved through time.

**"My Lady." **Han said respectfully.

Modoriko once again looked at Inuyasha, studied him carefully completely forgetting Vestar.

But he was not to be ignored.

"_Modoriko, it is time to finish this!" _he yelled at her.

Modoriko turned back to him, she showed no emotion, no anger, or hate, at Vestar, merely resignation and boredom.

Inuyasha imagined that they had been fighting so long it had grown wearisome.

"_Yes, Vestar, it is past time to end this." _Modoriko agreed and she held out the Jewel again.

_"You are too much of a coward to fight me yourself?" _Vestar asked showing no fear as the Jewel started to glow.

_"So much to do." _Was all she said before the Jewel's light exploded.

Han started rocking dangerously as it hit him and everyone was knocked on their ass. The waves started crashing mercilessly against the beach and cove. Miroku grabbed Sango as she fell but was forced to his knees himself.

Inuyasha could only stare at Kagome, who had eyes only for Vestar.

Vestar stood tall and proud against the power, the only effect it had on him was to ruffle his hair.

"_Is this how it ends?" _was all he asked.

Modoriko nodded. He closed his eyes in defeat before the power rushed over him and his body was disintegrated. Two souls escaped it's shell.

"_Your wish half-ling." _Modoriko said turning to Inuyasha. _"A safe home for my people, it shall be yours." _

This time the power overwhelmed everyone, including Inuyasha, and they all collapsed, unconscious.

Modoriko raised her hand and crushed the jewel in her fist.

The power shot across the sky, toward Hium, but so many more, tiny tendrils of power, shot across the sky in all directions.

_"They will come." _She promised Inuyasha who was too far gone to listen.

The white of her eyes faded to be replaced by Kagome's brown. They were half closed in fatigue and her hand was empty.

_"And__ for you, my daughter..." _was the last thing she heard before her body dropped into the ocean and didn't resurface.

* * *

Inuyasha raised his head tiredly. It pounded worse than after a night of drinking and he was just as sick.

"Kagome?" he said weakly staring around at the still unconcious bodies around him, but she was no where to be found.

He dropped back onto the sand, the pretty blue sky and chirping birds too much for him.

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maybe like one more chapter left guys!


	24. The Love of Years

Disclaimer: Nope I don't own Inuyasha

Okay, the last chapter...I think I'm going to cry....*tear*...the ending such sweet sorrow....Aw well, thanks and thanks again to all my reviewers cause you guys are what makes fanfics great!!!! And you boost my self esteem which, I'm told, is good for me. See you all in my following stories if you feel like sticking with me!!!

**Chapter 21: The Love of Years**

Han pulled the ship expertly into Hium as if he had done so a thousand times before.

The crew was slightly subdued, though still happy to be home. They disembarked to the joyous calls of loved ones who gave them food and drink, and Inuyasha was struck forcefully by a feeling of loneliness, not for the first time.

They had searched for hours, the entire crew with Han calling out loud enough to make his head hurt. They had not found Kagome. She had disappeared beneath the waves without a trace. They searched for days when Inuyasha had finally given in and ordered they be set for home. No one wanted to go, but they all knew, even if she had died, her body had already been carried out to sea.

Sango hadn't smiled once, Shippo was inconsolable, and even Miroku had not groped anyone in the weeks in the time it took to get home. Han had only spoke what was necessary.

Inuaysha was the last to leave the ship. He had spent more time in his cabin than anywhere else. The place where they had spent many happy hours, particularly that last night.

"Captain." A man, Gertude by name and the village headman when he was out, ran up to him followed by families Inuyasha had never seen before.

"You won't believe it, captain. These people, they....they are Singers." he said smiling happily.

"What....?" Inuyasha asked not sure he had heard correctly.

"They have been showing up by the family for three weeks now." Gertude summoned the oldest man, easily 80, over to him.

"We recieved a message." He said his eyes sparkling happily. "From a lady with long black hair and pure white eyes. She said to come here, and we would find safety, and peace and no fear of our gift."

"That's right." Inuyasha said, numb. "How many...?" Inuyasha seemed unable to put two words together.

"Seven families thus far." Gertude said excitedly. "Two loners, and a newly web couple."

Inuyasha couldn't believe it.

"Look, there's more!" Herena called out pointing to another boat on the horizon.

Inuyasha could hear the symphany of many voices blending together as the boat came with more speed than any he had seen, save Han.

It was a full ship too, all of them Singing, changing the tune as soon as they saw people.

The families on shore Sang back and the people on board cheered, docked and got off happily.

Children ran past him giggling, smiling, and carefree. Elderly left the ship assisted by younger people who looked relieved and worn down by everything. Pregnant women and women with still nursing children, fighters, scholars, Singers.

The last off was a family of three. An old man, stooped with age, a young lady, and a boy who could only be her son.

She came down the plank and right toward Inuyasha.

Before he could say or do anything, she reached back her hand and slapped him with all her might, which was rather alot.

The entire village, previously cheering and yelling happily, got quiet and even Inuyasha was a little shocked.

He looked to the women about to demand an explanation when he saw her face. Chocolate brown eyes, raven hair, a sweet kind oval face slightly marred by anger. That scent of flowers and peace, she could only be Kagome's mother.

She saw the recognition in his eyes and nodded furiously.

"Yeah, that's me. Where is she?" she demanded her body tense and her fists balled up.

Inuyasha looked down not sure how to tell her.

"Where is she?" She demanded again her eyes swimming with tears.

"I'm sorry." was all he was able to whisper.

"NO! Your lying!" She beat on his chest tears streaming down her face. "I know she's here! She can't be....Where is she!?"

Inuyasha did nothing to stop the assault, his people seeing this, also did nothing.

Eventually her fists stopped coming and she was just crying on his chest. Inuyasha rubbed her back knowing it did nothing to stop her grief.

Sango finally started crying too, something she had not done yet which Miroku thought was good for her. He held her close and for once, his thoughts really were all innocent.

Shippo started bawling again and everyone knew something was wrong.

"She is gone, isn't she?" Gertude asked his happiness finally fading. "The lady, Kagome."

"We lost her to the sea." Inuyasha said quietly.

Her mother sniffed once and pulled back from him. "Then that's alright." Her voice was shaky and sad as only a mother who had experienced loss could be. "She always loved the sea, she will be happy now."

"I think so."

_"Half-ling." _an all too familiar voice said making everyone jerk their heads around trying to find the source. _"Her wish was to see all her people safe and happy." _the voice seemed to be coming from the water itself. _"I needed her to tell them where to find their safety and happiness, now, you may have her back."_

A wave large enough to loom just over the dock came rushing toward them and splashed down on the wood. Every one instinctively covered their eyes with their arms to avoid the water.

When Inuyasha moved his, he saw Kagome, laying wet and sleeping, on the wood of the dock.

"Kagome!" he ran forward and lifted her back up gently.

Her eyes stirred and she opened them wearily. "Inuyasha." She smiled happily up at him, before her memory came back and she frowned. "What...."

"Kagome." her mother said weakly kneeling next to Inuyasha.

"Mom!" Kagome said a little shocked. "What are you doing....Where are we."

"Hium." Inuyasha said hugging her close. "Hium sweet hium."

"Home." Kagome leaned into his and whispered to his neck, just loud enough for him to hear, "You better get the wedding ready." she said.

"Huh?" Inuyasha drew back. Of course he would marry her but...

She grabbed his hand and placed it on his stomach.

He was confused only for a second, before his eyes widened in disbelief.

"What....No way..."

"Kagome, your pregnant." her mom said. Both of them could feel the new life getting developed inside her.

The other Singers cheered as one by one they felt it too.

Inuyasha picked her up and spun her in circles. "I'm going to be a father." He yelled happily. "Hey Ya'll!" He called to his people who seemed to have already found out. "I'm going to be a father!" At this news the whole village, Singers included, cheered. A cheer which only increased when Inuyasha brought Kagome's mouth down to his for a passionate kiss.

"I'm going to be a father." he whispered to her, his forhead touching hers.

* * *

"And so," The old man finished the tale to the children. "They married. They had many more children, and their children had children. And one day, with a storm outside, he told his tale to all his grandchildren."

The kids screamed happily as the door opened and their parents came in.

"Mom, Dad." Junichi, their oldest said kissing Kagome's withered cheek and clasping Inuyasha on the back. "Heck of a storm. Even Han was getting tired.

"Where's mommy and daddy." a girl asked. "Mikera and Hena are helping Sango and Miroku. His arthritis is acting up again so they had to come in from the fishing boats.

"Granpa's Arthretis?"

"No baby girl." Junichi picked up Sango and Miroku's grandchild. "It's arthritis."

"Oh." she said holding onto his neck.

"Where's that wife of yours." Kagome asked bringing in the dinner she had made into the room.

Junichi's eyes filled with love as he thought of the girl he had wed. "Keni is fine. She's at home with the baby."

"And so you should be." Kagome chastised. "You get that from your father. Now go down and change a diaper or two. It wont kill you."

"Yes, mama." he smiled, kissed her cheek again and left dutifully.

"Hey, it stopped raining!" one of the boys pointed out. "Can we go play?"

"If you get muddy your not coming back in." Kagome said handing her husband his dinner.

"Okay!" They agreed and ran outside. Even Inuyasha's favorite grandchild climbed out of his lap and followed her family demurely.

They smiled at each other, their gaze filled with love only years of being together could bring.

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Well their you are. Another end to another story. Hope you all enjoyed and maybe, if I'm lucky, you'll continue to read me. Bye-Bye!!!


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